Europa League roundup: Di María hat-trick propels Juventus into last 16

Ángel Di María scored a hat-trick as Juventus eased to a 3-0 win at 10-man Nantes on Thursday to reach the Europa League round of 16 4-1 on aggregate.

Juventus only managed a 1-1 draw against the French side in the home leg as they eyed a long run in the European competition to boost a miserable league campaign in which they have been deducted 15 Serie A points for financial irregularities.

Argentine Di María put Juventus ahead after five minutes with a delightful curling strike from the edge of the box into the top corner.

The evening got worse for Nantes after 18 minutes when defender Nicolas Pallois was sent off when he used his arm to stop another goal from Di María. The 35-year-old had no problem converting the resulting penalty.

Di María completed his treble 12 minutes from time when he sent in a glancing header and the ball just crossed the line before being pushed away.

The draw for the round of 16 will be held on Friday.

Sporting knocked Midtjylland out after thrashing their hosts 4-0 in Denmark to advance to the last 16 5-1 on aggregate.

After fighting back to draw 1-1 at home in the first leg of the playoff tie, Sporting dominated proceedings at Midtjylland and took the lead in the 21st minute with a close-range header by defender Sebastián Coates from a rebound off the crossbar.

Sporting’s job got a lot easier after Midtjylland full-back Paulinho was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in two minutes for rough fouls, leaving the Danish side with 10 men.

Pedro Gonçalves extended Sporting’s lead in the 50th minute with a volley from a rebound and scored his second in the 77th when his long-range strike deflected in off a defender.

Stefan Gartenmann scored a comical own-goal five minutes from time when he