Europa League Playoffs: Di Maria's Hattrick Seals Juventus' Last 16 Spot

A sensational hat-trick from Angel Di Maria took Juventus into Europa League last 16 with a commanding 3-0 win over Nantes on Thursday.

The World champion opened the scoring just five minutes into the match and doubled the lead with a penalty in the 20th minute.

Di Maria completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute to seal the victory.

Nantes' task was made even more difficult when Nicolas Pallois was sent off after just a quarter of an hour for a handball, leaving the French side with ten men for the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile, six-time champions Sevilla suffered a 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands but managed to progress 3-2 on aggregate.

Luuk de Jong and Fabio Silva scored late goals for the Dutch team, who also had Mauro Junior sent off in stoppage time.

Sporting Lisbon also booked their spot in the last 16 with a convincing 4-0 victory at Midtjylland in Denmark, sealing a 5-1 aggregate victory.

The Portuguese side dominated from start to finish, with goals from Tiago Tomas, Pedro Goncalves, Joao Palhinha, and Nuno Santos.

The draw for the Europa League last 16 will be held on Friday, with Juventus, Sevilla, and Sporting Lisbon among the teams eagerly awaiting their opponents.