Edinburgh: Tottenham's passage into the group stages of the Europa League is all but assured after a five-goal drubbing of Scottish Premier League side Hearts left the Edinburgh side with little hope for when the sides meet again at White Hart Lane.
Three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game from Rafael van der Vaart, Jermain Defoe and Jake Livermore - with two more in the second - left the Scottish side stunned and new Hearts manager Paulo Sergio, without any response to offer.
The ease with which Spurs grasped control of the tie reflects the gulf between the elite divisions of Scotland and England and means that Harry Redknapp will have the luxury of resting players when the two meet again next Thursday.
The Tynecastle crowd were licking their lips at the chance to test themselves against a Spurs side who flourished in their debut Champions League campaign last season and certainly give their side all the support they could with a vociferous and lively atmosphere.
Other important results:
Hannover 96 2-1 Sevilla: The German side will take a slender advantage to Spain as they laboured to victory. Jan Schlaudraff opened the scoring in the sixth minute but the Bundesliga side were pegged back in the 37th minute courtesy of Frederic Kanoute's strike. However Hannover 96 edged in front again on the stroke of half-time as Schlaudraff grabbed his second of the night to leave Sevilla trailing ahead of the return tie back in Andalusia.
Slovan Bratislava 1-0 Roma: The Italian club have it all to do at home in the second leg as they slumped to a narrow defeat in Slovakia. A goal in the 80th minute from Marian Had pulled off a shock win for the hosts as Luis Enrique's men failed to break down a staunch defensive display from the home side.
Differdange 0-4 Paris Saint-Germain: The Parisian outfit record a flattering victory in Luxembourg as they were made to work hard for their win. An early strike from Kevin Gameiro gave the Ligue 1 side the lead but it took until the 71st before Jean-Christophe Bahebeck could double his team's lead. Late goals from Jeremy Menez and Ceara put gloss on the scoreline as the French side will look to complete the job in the return leg.
Lazio 6-0 Rabotnicki Skopje: The Serie A side virtually booked their place into the group stages as they annihilated their Macedonian opponents. Hernanes broke the deadlock midway through the first half before Stefano Mauri added a second goal as the floodgates opened in the second period. Further strikes from Djibril Cisse, who earned himself a brace, Tommaso Rocchi and Miroslav Klose sealed the romp.
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Vitoria: Elias struck twice to decide this first-leg tie as late goals from the Spaniards put them firmly in the driving seat to advance to the group stage. Joao Paulo's sending off for the Portuguese side made their task even harder. Elias was on hand to notch his two strikes in a five minute spell to claim the win for the La Liga club.
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