Super Mario’s superbly taken brace for Manchester City set the ball rolling as the Europa League resumed on Joy Sports and Adom TV on Multi-TV after a long break. Balotelli’s brace helped the Eastlanders claim a place in the next stage of the Europa League by way of a 3-0 win over Salzburg, with a game to spare. The temperamental forward’s strike rate now stands at an impressive five goals in just five starts for his club-not a bad return on the £24million spent in acquiring his services. Balotelli swept home a fine volley from outside the area in the 18th minute following a cross from Pablo Zabaleta. The former Inter Milan hit man scored his second goal from close range following a ball from Vieira after Johnson had won possession. And City made it 3-0 seven minutes later following a fine individual effort from Johnson. He skipped past three dispirited Salzburg players before finding the corner with his shot as City march on. In other results, Juventus, set to feature in the Joy Sports Serie A match of the week versus Catania next Sunday, crashed out of the competition after drawing 1-1 with Lech Poznan. The Polish side are three points clear of the Italians but cannot be caught as they have a better head-to-head record thanks to a 2-2 draw in Turin. Reigning champions Atletico Madrid were left staring at possible Europa League elimination after slumping to a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Aris Thessaloniki. Sporting secured top spot in Group C with a low-key 1-0 win over Lille. Bayer Leverkusen secured a spot in the next round with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in bitter cold conditions against Rosenborg in Trondheim. Sidney Sam scored the only goal of the game in the 35th minute for the German side. Gent jumped from bottom spot to second as Fernando Wallace's 77th-minute effort was enough to see off Levski Sofia 1-0. PSV Eindhoven came from behind to beat Sampdoria 2-1 and book their place in the last 32 as well as knocking the Italians out of contention. Dominant Zenit St Petersburg swept to their fifth victory in Europa League Group to beat Anderlecht 3-1, with the Belgian side now needing a final-day win over Hajduk Split to reach the knock-out stages. AEK Athens are in pole position to qualify alongside Zenit after a 3-1 win away to Hajduk Split. Odense and Getafe both bade farewell to the Europa League after playing out a 1-1 draw in testing conditions in Denmark and then seeing Young Boys claim a fight back win over Stuttgart. Despite Stuttgart leading 2-1 with 12 minutes to go in the group's other game, Young Boys hit back to win 4-2 and therefore build an unassailable five-point lead over both Getafe and Odense with one round of matches to go. Scott Sutter levelled the game at 2-2 in the 78th minute before Zambia international Emmanuel Mayuka struck in the 81st and 82nd minutes for the Swiss victory. Coming up on December Xtra this weekend on Joy Sports and Adom TV this weekend: Bayern Munich take on Schalke 04 this Saturday, 4th December in the German Bundesliga at 5:00pm. Then in Sunday’s Italian Serie A match of the week, Catania plays a Juventus side smarting from an embarrassingly early exit from the Europa League. Credit: Multi-TV Sports Desk/Espn.com