Europa League wrap: Johnson steers Fulham to win

An Andy Johnson double fired Fulham to a 2-0 win at Odense in the Europa League, while Celtic drew 1-1 with Udinese on Thursday.

Fulham travelled to Denmark for their Group K encounter unbeaten in three matches, although it was the hosts putting the pressure on in the early stages.

Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had to be at his best to deny Baye Djiby Fall from close range before the Senegalese forward shot wide on the volley.

Against the run of play, Fulham claimed the lead through Johnson who slipped his shot under Odense goalkeeper Stefan Wessels before he wrapped the match up two minutes from time with his second goal.

The hosts had Kalilou Traore sent off in stoppage time to add insult to injury, while the other match in the group saw FC Twente produce a 4-1 home win over Wisla Krakow.

The Polish side claimed a ninth-minute lead after a left foot strike from David Biton but the Eredivisie side were in front by half-time, as Marc Janko claimed a double.

In Group I, Udinese and Atletico Madrid scored late equalisers to draw away from home, with Almen Abdi cancelling out Ki Sung-Yong’s strike with two minutes to play while Juanfran netted with three minutes left as Atletico drew 1-1 with Rennes.

Championship outfit Birmingham City came from behind to beat Slovenian table-toppers Maribor 2-1 in Group H with Chris Burke and Wade Elliott scoring in the second half, while Club Brugge also won 2-1, triumphing at last season’s Europa League finalists Sporting Braga.

Christian Fuchs bagged a double including a brilliant free-kick from distance in Schalke’s 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa while the other Group J match saw Steaua Bucharest come from behind to grab a point in a 1-1 stalemate at AEK Larnaca.

Goals to Thomas Burgstaller and Mario Haas in the last five minutes saw Austrian side Sturm Graz defeat AEK Athens 2-1 and there was more joy in store for the away sides in Group L as Anderlecht won 2-0 at Lokomotiv Moscow.

In Group G, Austria Vienna claimed a strong 2-1 win at Swedish side Malmo and Metalist Kharkiv’s Taison cancelled out Jozy Altidore’s goal with 14 minutes remaining as the two sides could not be separated, with the match finishing as a 1-1 draw.