Europa League: Zenit St. Petersburg's fiery welcome

Zenit fans gave their team an impressively choreographed pyrotechnic guard of honor ahead of its must-win round-of-32 tie Thursday.

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Scores of supporters lined the entire road to the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg and let off flares as the team bus approached the stadium.

The spectacularly warm welcome seemed to do the trick.

Zenit overturned a 1-0 deficit from the first-leg to beat Fenerbahce 3-1 on the night and progress to the next round.

Zenit St. Petersburg's players celebrate after round-of-32 win.

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Villarreal discovered its fiery fate as the draw for the round of 16 fixtures was announced Friday.

Five-time Europa League champion Sevilla will play Czech outfit Slavia Prague, while Chelsea face a tough visit to Ukraine in their tie against Dynamo Kiev.

Unai Emery's Arsenal -- which overturned a first-leg deficit in the last round against BATE Borisov -- have a favorable tie against Ligue 1 Rennes. The Spaniard is a Europa League expert, winning three consecutive titles with his former side Sevilla.

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Elsewhere, Italian side Napoli will face RB Salzburg and three-time champion Inter Milan take on Frankfurt.

The next round of fixtures will be played on March 7 with the return legs scheduled for the week after.

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