Europa League sees Spanish sides continue dominance in Europe

Athletic Bilbao's Benat Etxebarria reacts after scoring during match against Rapid Wein at UEFA Europa League Group Stage on September 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MADRID - Spanish sides remain dominant in Europe following Thursday night's results in the Europa League.

Thursday night kicked off with Celta taking a 2-0 at home to Panathinaikos, although the side from Galicia had to wait until the 84th minute until John Guidetti opened the scoring before Daniel Wass sealed the win in an entertaining game with a smart free-kick.

Athletic Club Bilbao dominated from start to finish at home to Rapid Vienna, but needed a stunning volley from Benat just before the hour to seal the win in a game in which they missed two or three chances to have won by a more comfortable margin.

Villarreal were only able to draw 1-1 away to Steaua Bucharest, but that draw comes on the back of a win at home to Zurich in the opening group game. Rafael Borre opened the scoring for the Spaniards in the 9th minute, but Sulley Muniru levelled the scores 11 minutes later.

The Champions League also saw success for Spanish sides with three of the four teams in the competition claiming wins.

Tuesday saw Sevilla win 1-0 at home to Olympique Lyon while Real Madrid drew 2-2 away to Borussia Dortmund. In Wednesday's games Atletico Madrid took a famous and convincing 1-0 triumph at home to Bayern Munich while FC Barcelona came back from a goal down to win 2-1 away to Borussia Monchengladbach.