MOSCOW, Feb 21, (Agencies): Atletico Madrid’s bid for a second successive Europa League crown ended in freezing Moscow on Thursday when they only managed a 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan in their last-32 second-leg match and limped out 2-1 on aggregate.
A 2-0 success for the Russian side in last week’s first leg in Madrid, including a second goal in the fifth minute of added time, had left Diego Simeone’s team with a difficult task on the artificial pitch at a near-empty Luzhniki Stadium.
The Argentine coach decided to leave a host of regular starters back in Spain, suggesting the club are focusing on maintaining second spot in La Liga and securing a berth in the more prestigious Champions League next term.
Atletico missed the creativity of Arda Turan and Koke and although striker Radamel Falcao twice went close they struggled to break through the massed ranks of Rubin defenders until six minutes from time.

Forward Adrian was a constant threat for the La Liga side and it was his storming run into the penalty area that set up Falcao to give the Spanish club a sliver of hope.
They pressed for the goal that would have take the game to extra time but Rubin held firm despite losing captain Cesar Navas to a straight red card for a wild lunge on Falcao a minute from time.
Rubin, whose win at the Calderon ended Atletico’s run of 19 straight home wins in all competitions and a 12-game home winning streak in Europe, will meet Levante or Olympiakos Piraeus in next month’s two-legged last-16 tie.
A 90th-minute strike by Mousa Dembele took Tottenham Hotspur through to the last 16 of the Europa League at Lyon’s expense as the second leg of their tie ended in a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland.
Just like in last week’s first leg, the English club netted at the death to douse the hopes of their French opponents, as Spurs followed up their 2-1 win a week ago to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

Gareth Bale’s brilliant stoppage-time free-kick had earned Tottenham victory in the first leg, and here Dembele delivered a decisive blow in the final minute, stepping away from Clement Grenier and firing across Remy Vercoutre and into the far corner with a vicious left-footed strike.
Lyon, who had led for much of the game through Maxime Gonalons’ headed opener, were left completely deflated by that blow, as Spurs march on to a last-16 tie against Inter Milan.
The North London side probably deserved to progress, but they were also fortunate when German referee Wolfgang Stark waved away strong Lyon claims for a penalty in the second half when Brad Friedel appeared to bring down Alexandre Lacazette inside the area.
This entertaining match, played in front of a packed Stade de Gerland — a stadium which has seen its fair share of memorable European nights in the Champions League over the last decade — could certaibly have gone either way.

Tottenham arrived in France having not played since last week’s first leg, and their freshness was combined with a confidence brought from their run of 10 games without defeat in the Premier League.
Lyon, meanwhile, have managed to keep pace with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 throughout this season, but Remi Garde’s side are not as fearsome an outfit as the one that dominated domestically throughout the last decade.
Joining Spurs in the next round were fellow English travellers Newcastle, who thanked Shola Ameobi’s third European goal of the season for a 1-0 win at Metalist Kharkiv, the Ukrainians who held the Magpies to a goalless stalemate on Tyneside last week.

Newcastle were under the cosh for much of the match and Dutch keeper Tim Krul made several top drawer saves, before Ameobi struck on 64 minutes for a crucial away goal.
And despite late pressure from the Ukrainians — Brazilian striker Willian hitting the post — Newcastle, whose last trophy came in the old Fairs Cup, predecessor of the now defunt UEFA Cup, back in 1969, held on to advance as Kharkiv suffered only their second defeat in 12 outings at the Metalist Stadium.
Inter, European Cup winners in 2010, went through after a 3-0 romp at 10-man Romanians Cluj for a 5-0 aggregate success.
Colombian star Fredy Guarin scored a brace for Inter with Marco Benassi adding the third.
Elsewhere in early action, Germany’s Stuttgart won 2-0 at Belgium’s Genk for a 3-1 aggregate win while Italy’s Lazio defeated German rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 with Antonio Andreva and Alvaro Gonzalez the scorers in the first half as the Romans progressed 5-3 overall.