Thursday, September 17, 2015

Europa League: Ajax and Bhoys Draw; Bordeaux and Reds Deadlock Too; Spurs, Dortmund, Royal Blues, Black Eagles Triumph As Group-Stage Play Starts

Europa League group-stage play commenced on Thursday with 24 games.

GROUP A:

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Mohamed Elyounoussi scored the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute as Molde FK knocked off Fenerbahce 3-1 on the road.

At Amsterdam, Netherlands:

Viktor Fischer (25') and Lasse Schone (84') each scored once as Ajax Amsterdam salvaged a 2-2 home draw with Celtic.  Nir Bitton (8') and Mikael Lustig (42') each tallied once for the ten-man Bhoys.

Group A Standings:

1. Molde FK (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Celtic (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Ajax Amsterdam (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Fenerbahce (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Celtic scored once on the road in their first match with Ajax.



GROUP B:

At Bordeaux, France:

Jussie's equalizer in the 81st minute enabled Bordeaux to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Liverpool.  Adam Lallana scored for the Reds in the 65th minute.

At Sion, Switzerland:

Moussa Konate scored twice (11', 82') as FC Sion defeated visiting Rubin Kazan 2-1.

Group B Standings:

1. FC Sion (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Liverpool (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Bordeaux (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Rubin Kazan (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Liverpool scored once on the road in their first match with Bordeaux.



GROUP C:

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

PAOK FC held hosts Gabala FK to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Dortmund, Germany:

Park Joo-Ho scored the winning goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time as Borussia Dortmund defeated visiting FC Krasnodar 2-1.

Group C Standings:

1. Borussia Dortmund (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Gabala FK (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
    PAOK FC (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FC Krasnodar (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



GROUP D:

At Herning, Denmark:

Morten Rasmussen scored the only goal of FC Midtjylland's 1-0 victory over visiting Legia Warsaw in the 60th minute.

Jose Callejon (5', 77') and Dries Mertens (19', 25') each scored twice as Napoli destroyed visiting Club Brugge 5-0.

Group D Standings:

1. Napoli (GP: 1; GD: +5; PTS: 5)
2. FC Midtjylland (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Legia Warsaw (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Club Brugge (GP: 1; GD: -5; PTS: 0)



GROUP E:

At Vienna, Austria:

Steffen Hofmann's successful penalty kick in the 53rd minute proved to be the game winner as Rapid Vienna knocked off visiting Villarreal 2-1.

At Plzen, Czech Republic:

Tomas Horava (36') and Milan Petzela (75') each scored once as FC Viktoria Plzen blanked visiting Dinamo Minsk 2-0.

Group E Standings:

1. FC Viktoria Plzen (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Rapid Vienna (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Villarreal (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. FC Dinamo Minsk (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



GROUP F:

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

Rafa Silva scored the only goal of the match as Sporting Braga defeated FC Slovan Liberec 1-0 on the road.

At Groningen, Netherlands:

Georges-Kevin N'Koudou (25'), Lucas Ocampos (42'), and Romain Alessandrini (61') each scored once as Marseille dominated FC Groningen 3-0 on the road, snapping a ten-match winless skid in European club competition.

Group F Standings:

1. Marseille (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. Sporting Braga (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. FC Slovan Liberec (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS; 0)
4. FC Groningen (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)



GROUP G:

At Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine:

Yevhen Seleznyov's stoppage-time equalizer (90'+4) enabled FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk came back to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Lazio.  Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored for the visiting Young Eagles in the 34th minute.

At Saint-Etienne, France:

Robert Beric (4') and Nolan Roux (PK-87') each scored once as Saint-Etienne salvaged a 2-2 home draw with Rosenborg BK.  Tobias Mikkelsen (16') and Jonas Svensson (78') provided the scoring for the visiting Trond Kids.

Group G Standings:

1. Rosenborg BK(GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
2. Saint-Etienne (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Lazio (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)

NOTES:  Rosenborg and Saint-Etienne each scored twice in their group-stage opener while Lazio and FC Dnipro each scored once in their draw; Rosenborg scored twice on the road in their first match with Saint-Etienne while Lazio scored once on the road in their first contest with Dnipro.



GROUP H:

At Lisbon, Portugal:

Aleksandr Samedov scored twice (12', 56') as Lokomotiv Moscow downed Sporting CP 3-1 on the road.  The defeat snapped the Lions' 20-match Europa League home unbeaten run, a tournament record.

At Elbasan, Albania:

Jose Sosa scored the only goal of the match in the 28th minute as Besiktas defeated Skenderbeu Korce 1-0 on the road.

Group H Standings:

1. Lokomotiv Moscow (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Besiktas (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Skenderbeu Korce (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS; 0)
4. Sporting CP (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



GROUP I:

At Florence, Italy:

Mohamed Elneny scored the winning goal in the 79th minute as FC Basel knocked off Fiorentina 2-1 on the road.

At Poznan, Poland:

Lech Poznan battled visiting Belenenses to a 0-0 deadlock.

Group I Standings:

1. FC Basel (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Belenenses (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
    Lech Poznan (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Fiorentina (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



GROUP J:

At Brussels, Belgium:

Lacina Traore equalizer in the 85th minute lifted AS Monaco to a 1-1 road draw with RSC Anderlecht.  Guillaume Gillet scored for the hosts in the 11th minute.

At London:

Son Heung-min scored twice in a two-minute period late in the first half-hour (28', 30') as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to upend visiting Qarabag 2-1.

Group J Standings:

1. Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. AS Monaco (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Qarabag FK (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS; 0)

NOTE:  AS Monaco scored once on the road in the first contest with RSC Anderlecht.



GROUP K:

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice (35', 71') as Schalke dominated APOEL FC 3-0 on the road.

At Tripoli, Greece:

David Lafata delivered the equalizer in the 56th minute as Sparta Prague gained a 1-1 road draw with Asteras Tripoli.  Pablo Mazza scored for the hosts in the second minute.

Group K Standings:

1. FC Schalke 04 (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. Sparta Prague (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Asteras Tripoli FC (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. APOEL FC (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Sparta Prague scored once on the road in the first of two contests with Asteras Tripoli.



GROUP L:

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Andrija Zivkovic scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Partizan Belgrade held off visiting (and ten-man) AZ Alkmaar 3-2.

At Bilbao, Spain:

Aritz Adruiz scored twice (55', 66') as Athletic Bilbao downed visiting FC Augsburg 3-1.

Group L Standings:

1. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Partizan Belgrade (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. AZ Alkmaar (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. FC Augsburg (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)


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