LONDON, Jan 31(AFP): Manchester United booked their place in the Europa League last 16 with a 2-0 win at Romanian side FCSB, while troubled Tottenham turned to their young guns to advance via a top-eight finish on Thursday.
Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo scored for United in the second half of their final league phase fixture at the National Arena in Bucharest.
In north London, under-pressure Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was relieved to see Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore kill off Swedish minnows Elfsborg with their first goals for the club in a 3-0 victory.
United, unbeaten in eight games in the tournament, finished in third place and Tottenham came fourth, ensuring the Premier League clubs both avoided the Europa League play-off round.
The top eight automatically progress to the last 16, where they will be seeded against the winners of eight two-leg knockout play-off ties featuring the clubs ranked from ninth to 24th.
Ruben Amorim's side extended their recent improvement to one defeat in seven games in all competitions with a third successive victory for the first time this season.
United were patchy in the first half but Amorim sent on Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho at the break and they helped turn the tide.
United finally took the lead in the 60th minute when Mainoo guided a dangerous low cross into the six-yard box and Dalot timed his run to slot home with ease.
Daniel Birligea almost hauled FCSB level immediately with a thunderous strike that nearly crossed the line after hitting the bar.
But Mainoo's composed finish from Garnacho's cutback in the 68th minute put the result beyond doubt.
"More than the win is to have time to train and have time to recover the players," Amorim said of United avoiding the play-offs.
"The lads did a good job but we have to understand the opponent is not with all due respect the same level as the Premier League. We want to improve a lot with the way we play."
At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it took three of the club's promising academy graduates to lift the gloom.
Tottenham are languishing in 15th place in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone after winning just one of their past 11 top-flight matches.
