Premier League sides
Manchester City and Liverpool both took victory at home on Thursday, reaching
the last 16 in the Europa League.

Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko celebrates scoring against Aris Salonika during their Europa League round of 32, second leg soccer match at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, northern England, February 24, 2011.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Man City were held 0-0 in
the first leg away match against Aris Salonika, but dominated the home game with
a 3-0 win over their Greek opponents.

Liverpool were also held
to a goalless draw when they visited Sparta Prague in the first leg, and they
couldn’t split with the physical strong squad until Dirk Kuyt headed in a late
winner.

At Eastlands, Italian boss
Roberto Mancini sent a three-pronged attack of Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli and
Carlos Tevez and got rewarded soon.

Aris player Nikos
Lazaridis failed to get control of Aleksandar Kolarov’s long pass, allowing
Dzeko to open the score with a clinical right-foot finish in the seventh minute.
The 27 million pound January signing striker added a second only after five
minutes as he curled home with his left foot.

The hosts were likely to
score more but had to wait until the 75th minute to gain a third when Yaya
Toure’s long-range shot deflected into net.

Man. City will meet Dynamo
Kiev in the last 16 round after the Ukrainian side knocked out Besiktas 8-1 on
aggregate.

Ealier at Anfield, the
Reds fought hard with the absence of their captain Steven Gerrard and were
finally rewarded a last 16 berth with Dutchman Kuyt’s header in the 86th minute.

Liverpool will next play
Braga who beat Lech Poznan 2-1 on aggregate.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet