Arsenal and Spurs take the initiative

London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham look to have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League following impressive first-leg results in their last-16 ties last night.

The Gunners enjoyed a 3-1 win over Olympiacos in Greece, while Spurs recorded a 2-0 home victory against Dinamo Zagreb.

England striker Harry Kane scored twice for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham. He opened the scoring with a 25th-minute rebound before doubling Spurs' advantage with a composed low finish in the 70th minute.

The downside for Mourinho was that Kane, inset, couldn’t complete his hattrick and limped off late on with a knock to his knee.

Martin Odegaard set Arsenal on their way, the Norwegian scoring with a powerful 20-yard drive.

Mikel Arteta’s side needed Gabriel to restore their lead after another defensive lapse had allowed Youssef El Arabi to equalise for the hosts. But an otherwise excellent evening for Arsenal was rounded off by Mohamed Elneny's superb long-range strike late on.

Spurs and Arsenal now face each other in the north London derby on Sunday before returning to Europa League duty next midweek.

Roma comfortably saw off Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, while Granada beat 10-man Molde 2-0. Villarreal won 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev, with some 12,750 fans at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex.

LAST NIGHT’S RESULTS

Europa League. Round of 16, first legs: Ajax 3 Young Boys 0, Dinamo Kiev 0 Villarreal 2, Manchester Utd 1 AC Milan 1, Slavia Prague 1 Rangers 1, Granada 2 Molde 0, Olympiakos 1 Arsenal 3, Roma 3 Shakhtar Donetsk 0, Tottenham 2 Dinamo Zagreb 0.

TONIGHT’S FIXTURES

Scottish Championship: Inverness CT v Raith Rovers (7.45).

English Premier League: Newcastle v Aston Villa (8.00).

Sky Bet Championship: Blackburn v Brentford (7.45)

Sky Bet League 2: Walsall v Barrow (7.00)