LONDON (AP) Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow were among four teams to clinch their places in the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday, continuing Russia's strong recent showings in Europe's second-tier club competition.
Zenit, which won the tournament in 2008 when it was called the UEFA Cup, survived a late fightback to win 3-2 at Hajduk Split, while 2005 winner CSKA scored three times in eight second-half minutes to beat Italy's Palermo 3-1.
Belarusian champion BATE Borisov beat Sheriff of Moldova 3-1 to advance for the first time, while Stuttgart went through after a 3-0 win at Getafe.
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