Wolves close in on Europa League group stage

London - Raul Jimenez scored twice in a 4-0 thrashing of Armenia's Pyunik

Wolves moved a step closer to reaching the Europa League group stage for the first time as Raul Jimenez scored twice in a 4-0 thrashing of Armenia's Pyunik in the third qualifying round, first leg, on Thursday.
Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves, who made it into qualifying by finishing seventh in the Premier League last season as a newly-promoted club, made short work of their hosts in Yerevan.
Wing-back Matt Doherty, who scored eight goals last term, rolled in a 29th-minute opener, before Jimenez made it two three minutes before half-time.
Mexican international Jimenez grabbed his fourth goal of qualifying shortly after the restart, having also netted two against Crusaders in the previous round.
Former winners PSV Eindhoven, who were narrowly pipped to the Dutch league title last term by Champions League semifinalists Ajax, claimed a 1-0 win over Haugesund in Norway thanks to Steven Bergwijn's 24th-minute penalty.
Their fellow Eredivisie giants Feyenoord also eased towards the playoff round with a 4-0 thrashing of 10-man Dinamo Tbilisi.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Aberdeen lost 2-0 to Rijeka in Croatia, while Astana thrashed Valletta 5-1 in Kazakhstan, Portuguese side Braga won 4-2 at Brondby and Bulgarian champions Ludugorets Razgrad hammered Welsh team TNS 5-0.