A. Di Maria's "hat-trick" paves the way for "Juventus" to the Europa League quarter-finals © AFP

In the return leg of the Europa League round of 16 matches that took place on Thursday, Turin's "Juventus" defeated "Nantes" with a score of 3:0 and advanced to the next stage. The first leg ended in a 1:1 draw.

All three away goals were scored by the country's forward Angel Di Maria. The Argentine opened the scoring for his team in the 5th minute with a great shot to beat the opponents' goalkeeper.

"Nantes" players significantly reduced their chances to come back into the game in the 17th minute after defender Nicolas Pallois played with his hand in the penalty area and received a red card. Angel Di Maria converted the penalty kick and scored a brace.

In the 78th minute, the Argentine completed his hat-trick with a header into the goal.

Other results (after both matches):

"Midtjylland" 1:5 "Sporting"

PSV 2:3 "Sevilla"