Athletic Bilbao advanced to the last 16 of the Europa League despite a home defeat to Spartak Moscow on Thursday night.
The match itself was overshadowed by the death of a Bilbao police officer following clashes with the Russian club’s ultras ahead of the match.
The Basque giants were already strong favourites to advance following an impressive 4-1 victory in Russia the previous week, where Aritz Aduriz netted a double.
Luiz Adriano gave Spartak the lead on the stroke of half time before Xabier Etxeita levelled the tie on the night just before the hour mark.
Lorenzo Melgarejo then restored the visitors lead late on but it wasn’t enough for Spartak, as Jose Angel Ziganda’s side advanced 5-3 on aggregate.
