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On a good night for French clubs in Europe, only Auxerre failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup group stage - although Marseille came close to stumbling.
The 2004 finalists were expected to make short shrift of small Belgian club Germinal Beerschot, but were unable to break the deadlock at the Stade Vélodrome.
The Antwerp-based team kept Marseille at bay in the first-leg as well, and with the scores tied after 90 minutes, the match went into extra-time.
Instead of fading, though, it was the Belgians who finished the match the strongest, and to the disappointment of the home fans OM seemed content to wait for penalties long before the final whistle.
It was a risky strategy, particularly after the visitors' goalkeeper Luciano Da Silva Moura had made so many reflex saves during the game – not least from Mamadou Niang and Cristian Gimenez – but the Mediterranean outfit did not tremble when it mattered.
Gimenez, André Luis, Taye Taiwo and teenager Samir Nasri all converted from the spot, and Cédric Carrasso made a save, as Jean Fernandez's men sighed a breath of collective relief.
The performance of the night belonged to Strasbourg, who put their poor form in Ligue 1 behind them to record a sensational 5-0 victory over Graz AK at the Stade de la Meinau.
It was the kind of display the Alsace outfit's Coach Jacky Duguépéroux has been waiting for all season and more than made up for last weekend's disappointing 4-2 home loss to Toulouse.
Already leading 2-0 after the first leg, Strasbourg went ahead through Karim Haggui after just six minutes, a quick goal that effectively ended the tie as a contest.
Alexander Farnerud then weighed in with two goals in the 40th and 50th minutes, before Ulrich Le Pen struck the fourth (52') and Rabo Hosni completed the rout (67').
Winners 7-0 on aggregate, Duguépéroux will now be hoping to see his side record their first victory in Ligue 1 against Troyes.
Likewise, Monaco made light of their own problems as they ran out 3-1 winners away to Dutch side Willem II, sealing a 5-1 scoreline over the two legs.
With Jean Petit still at the helm after Didier Deschamps' resignation last week, the principality club eased their way into the group stage thanks to second-half goals from Brazilian right-back Douglas Maicon(47'), Emmanuel Adebayor (57') and Ernesto Chevanton (89').
Hadouir fired in a consolation for the hosts, but they were well beaten and Monaco can now start to rebuild confidence and morale.
Petit's rein as caretaker boss comes to an end next week, if President Michel Pastor is to be believed, but he has done much to settle nerves at the club – first with a 2-1 win against Troyes, then a goalless draw with neighbours Nice, and now a guaranteed four more outings in Europe.
Lens were in the most precarious position of the French teams after the first leg, having been held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Polish outfit Groclin Grozdisk at the Stade Félix-Bollaert.
They made sure of their qualification with relative ease in the end, though, despite some aggressive play from their opponents and poor match conditions in Poznan.
Daniel Cousin (pictured) struck the first blow for the visitors, turning in Aruna Dindane's cross on 22 minutes, and next it was Dindane's turn to get on the scoresheet with a cool finish on the half-hour mark.
Gabonese striker Cousin then made sure of the result with his second goal after 53 minutes, but Lens fell to sleep at that point and almost allowed the hosts back into the match.
They pulled themselves back to 3-2 through Lumir Sedlacek and Radim Sablik, yet defender Yohan Lachor retorted with a stoppage-time effort to book the northerners a place in the next round.
Rennes also faced a potentially daunting test as they took a 3-1 lead to Osasuna, whose players had promised to "die on the pitch" in their attempts to secure qualification.
Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson was forced to make some fantastic saves and Pierre Webo fired against a post for the Spaniards after the interval, yet the Brittany club more than deserved to come away with a goalless draw.
Indeed, Olivier Monterrubio struck the woodwork for Laszlo Boloni's men with a shot from 25 metres out, and Etienne Didot came close to scoring with a first-half header.
The only disappointment off the night came in Sofia, where Auxerre succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to local side Levski that knocked them out of the competition on away goals.
Jacques Santini's charges won 2-1 in Burgundy a fortnight ago, but missing several key players, they sent down to Kopriakov's strike with just less than half an hour gone.
Auxerre came into the game on a run of three straight successes in Ligue 1, however they were unable to conjure up a goal against their modest hosts, despite having more than an hour to engineer a response.
The frustration is enhanced by the club's fantastic European pedigree under former Coach Guy Roux, whose team reached the quarter-finals of this competition last term before losing out to eventual winners CSKA Moscow.
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