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Paris. Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Europa League on Wednesday, a costly exit for an ambitious French club desperate for silverware and one that increases the pressure on coach Antoine Kombouare.

PSG grabbed two goals in the last five minutes at its Parc des Princes stadium to beat Athletic Bilbao 4-2, but it was all for nothing as Salzburg won 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava to join Bilbao in advancing to the last 32 of the competition from Group F.

“It’s very disappointing. We honestly could have got through in this group,” said Kombouare, whose future is under heavy scrutiny. “But when your qualification comes down to one game and your destiny is no longer in your own hands, then things become difficult.”

Lazio, Besiktas, Wisla Krakow and Steaua Bucharest were the other teams to qualify for the knockout phase on Wednesday.

Wisla’s progress from Group K was sealed in dramatic circumstances, as it beat FC Twente 2-1 and then saw Fulham concede a goal to Odense with 10 seconds left in stoppage time to draw 2-2. The English club, a finalist in 2010, would have gone through with a win.

The remaining four berths are up for grabs on Thursday. The draw for the last 32 will be made on Friday.

PSG’s wealthy Qatari backers, QSI, spent 82 million euros ($116 million) on new signings at the start of the season, but the club is now out of both the League Cup and the Europa League.

Kombouare’s position has been under the microscope in recent weeks after the club’s sporting director, Leonardo, acknowledged that he had met with former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti.

After Wednesday’s game, Leonardo denied suggestions that PSG midfielder Claude Makelele was in line to replace Kombouare in an interim role before a bigger name took over.

“It’s good to talk about this possibility, but we never offered him this position,” Leonardo said.

Defender Jon Aurtenetxe gave Bilbao an early lead and David Lopez equalized for the Spanish side after PSG went 2-1 up.

Midfielder Inigo Perez’s own goal and substitute striker Guillaume Hoarau’s penalty sealed PSG’s win, which was ultimately in vain after Salzburg came from two goals down inside the first six minutes to secure second place in the group.

Lazio was the other big name threatened by early elimination from Europe’s second-tier club competition on Wednesday but the Italian side avoided the same fate as PSG.

Libor Kozak and Giuseppe Sculli scored as Lazio qualified in second place in Group D with a 2-0 win over pool winner Sporting Lisbon.

Turkish side Besiktas finished on top of Group E after rallying to a 3-1 victory over English club Stoke, which had already clinched its place in the knockout phase.

Fulham looked to be cruising when it went 2-0 ahead by the 31st minute on goals by Clint Dempsey and Kerim Frei.

However, the English club paid the price for sitting back and protecting its lead, with Hans Henrik Andreasen halving the deficit in the 64th and substitute Djiby Fall grabbing a dramatic equalizer with the final touch of the game.

Steaua, the 1986 European champion, pipped Maccabi Haifa to second place behind Schalke in Group J by beating AEK Larnaca 3-1. Maccabi slumped to a 3-0 home loss to Schalke, which had already qualified.

Anderlecht sealed top spot in Group L with a perfect record by winning 5-3 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow.

Associated Press