A brilliant free-kick from Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko earned Tottenham a 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan at White Hart Lane, providing Harry Redknapp with a timely reminder of his talents after the Spurs boss had admitted he would reluctantly consider offers for the player in January.
GettyImagesRoman Pavlyuchenko celebrates scoring his screamer in the Europa League
• Europa League gallery 
The result moved the north London side top of Group A – two points ahead of PAOK Salonika, who powered past Shamrock Rovers 2-1 thanks to two moments of magic at the Toumbas Stadium.
Costin Lazar’s breathtaking 30-yard strike put the Greek side in control in the 12th minute and, although Karl Sheppard equalised before half-time, Vieirinha restored the hosts’ lead with a spectacular 20-yard strike in the 63rd minute.
Cameron Jerome was controversially sent off as Stoke strolled to a 3-0 home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv to consolidate their position at the top of Group E.
First-half headers from Kenwyne Jones and Jerome and a finish from Ryan Shotton put the Potters in control.
They were then reduced to 10 men as Jerome collected a second yellow card in the 43rd minute having been – somewhat harshly – adjudged to have elbowed Yoav Ziv, but the Maccabi player was shown red in a bizarre incident early in the second half and the hosts had little trouble seeing out the victory from there.
Denys Garmash scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time against Besiktas to send Dynamo Kiev second in the pool.
Cameron Jerome was controversially sent off as Stoke strolled to a 3-0 home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv to consolidate their position at the top of Group E.
First-half headers from Kenwyne Jones and Jerome and a finish from Ryan Shotton put the Potters in control.
They were then reduced to 10 men as Jerome collected a second yellow card in the 43rd minute having been – somewhat harshly – adjudged to have elbowed Yoav Ziv, but the Maccabi player was shown red in a bizarre incident early in the second half and the hosts had little trouble seeing out the victory from there.
Denys Garmash scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time against Besiktas to send Dynamo Kiev second in the pool.
Fernando Llorente scored two second-half penalties as Group F leaders Athletico Bilbao fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Salzburg.
The Spaniards’ unbeaten start to Group F looked to be coming to an end when Roman Wallner and Leonardo put the visitors in control before half-time, but Spain striker Llorente rescued a point for his side by blasting home two unstoppable spot-kicks.
The Austrians finished the game with 10 men as Rasmus Lindgren was sent off for the handball which gave away the second penalty.
The win moved Athletic on to seven points at the top of the pool – three points ahead of Salzburg and Paris St Germain.
The French side threw all they had at Slovan Bratislava this evening but ended up hanging on for a 0-0 draw as they were reduced to nine men on a frustrating evening in Slovakia, Clement Chantome and Christophe Jallet seeing red in the final 25 minutes.
GettyImagesMedhi Benatia scored at the death to ensure Udinese slayed Atletico Madrid
Mehdi Benatia and Antonio Floro Flores were both on target as the hosts moved three points clear of their rivals, who suffered their first defeat in the pool.
In the same pool, Joe Ledley’s second-half header gave Celtic a deserved 1-1 draw at Rennes.
An own goal from Cha Du-ri, who helped on a hopeful long ball then watched in horror as the ball slipped past Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster and in to the net, had put the French side ahead on the half-hour mark.
Schalke and Maccabi Haifa remained first and second in Group J after both recorded 5-0 victories.
Lewis Holtby set the German side on their way at AEK Larnaca and Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Benedikt Howedes headed the second and third in quick succession before Julian Draxler and Huntelaar, with his second, sealed a comprehensive win.
Maccabi also took a big step towards the last 32, remaining a point behind the Royal Blues with a 5-0 home triumph over nine-man Steaua Bucharest.
An early double from Weam Amasha had Maccabi in control inside the opening 20 minutes and things got worse for Steaua with Eric Bicfalvi dismissed in the 36th minute as he conceded a penalty from which Yaniv Katan made it 3-0.
Maccabi even managed to miss a penalty, in the 65th minute, after Valentin Iliev was sent off, but the goals continued to flow thanks to Taleb Tawatcha and Idan Vered.
FC Twente moved three points clear at the top of Group K thanks to a 4-1 victory over Odense BK in Denmark.
Goals from Wout Brama, Emir Bajrami and substitute Nacer Chadli put the Dutch side firmly in control and, although Djiby Fall pulled one back for the hosts, Luuk de Jong soon restored Twente’s three-goal cushion.
In the same group, Polish champions Wisla Krakow secured their first points with a 1-0 win over Fulham. David Biton struck the all-important goal after the Cottagers had had Moussa Dembele sent off.
Anderlecht maintained their 100% Group L record with a 2-0 win over 10-man Sturm Graz at the UPC-Arena thanks to second-half goals from Guillaume Gillet and Matias Suarez. Sturm defender Thomas Burgstaller saw red in between.
Second-placed Lokomotiv Moscow boosted their hopes of also advancing with a 3-1 triumph against AEK Athens in the Russian capital.
Dmitri Sychev headed the opener just after the break and rammed home the second from the penalty spot 20 minutes from time.
Dimitris Sialmas pulled one back for AEK in the 88th minute but substitute Felipe Caicedo restored Lokomotiv’s two-goal cushion in stoppage time.
Metalist Kharkiv overcame the first-half dismissal of Jonathan Cristaldo to hammer Malmo 4-1 in Sweden and move to the top of Group G.
Jiloan Hamad had fired the home side in front, only for Cristaldo to equalise.
The Argentinian striker was then given his marching orders just five minutes after scoring, but the Ukrainian club responded magnificently with strikes from Vinicius Fininho, Edmar and Marko Devic wrapping up an emphatic win.
The result meant Metalist moved two points clear of AZ Alkmaar at the pool summit as the Eredivisie leaders drew 2-2 at home to Austria Vienna.
The visitors had taken a 2-0 first-half lead through a Dirk Marcellis own goal and a Gorgon strike, but goals by Peter Hlinka and Pontus Wernbloom in the last 10 minutes rescued a point for AZ, who had Niklas Moisander sent off in stoppage time.
Chris Wood scored a stunning winner in the 10th minute of stoppage time to secure Birmingham a 2-1 win at Club Brugge and move the Blues alongside their hosts at the top of Group H.
GettyImagesDavid Murphy of Birmingham City scores against Club Brugge KV
The Championship side had trailed to Joseph Akpala’s third-minute opener but David Murphy’s slick finish restored parity in the 26th minute and then, following more than six minutes of treatment for defender Pablo Ibanez after he was knocked unconscious in worrying fashion, Wood stole in at the near post to net a dramatic winner.
In the same pool, NK Maribor and Braga battled out a 1-1 draw.
Vorskla Poltava secured their first point in this year’s Europa League as they enjoyed a surprise goalless draw at Group B leaders Standard Liege.
In the same pool, a last-minute goal from Cesar Santin earned FC Copenhagen a 2-2 draw at Hannover.
The home side twice took the lead through Christian Pander and Sergio Pinto, but Dame N’doye replied first before Santin hit a second equaliser.
Two goals in the final two minutes saw Udinese overcome Atletico Madrid 2-0 and maintain their unbeaten record in Europa League Group I this evening.
PSV Eindhoven strengthened their grip on first place in Group C with a 1-0 win at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Georgino Wijnaldum’s 70th-minute penalty proving decisive in Israel.
Miroslav Radovic put Legia Warsaw in pole position for second spot with a second-half winner in a 1-0 triumph at Rapid Bucharest.
Sporting Lisbon maintained their 100% record in Group D with a 2-0 home win over Vaslui.
Lopes Wesley was dismissed for the visitors in the 38th minute and Santos Evaldo eased any pressure around the Estadio Jose Alvalade when he opened the scoring two minutes before the break. Matias Fernandez made the points safe 20 minutes from time.
Also in Group D, Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw at FC Zurich. Giuseppe Sculli put the Italian side ahead in the 22nd minute but Zurich equalised seconds later through Nikci Adrian as both teams remained winless after three games.