Thursday, October 20, 2016

Europa League Group-Stage Play Reaches Midway Point

The midway point in group-stage play in the Europa League was reached on Thursday with 24 games.

GROUP A:

At Manchester, England:

Paul Pogba scored twice (PK-31', 45'+1) as Manchester United dominated visiting Fenerbahce 4-1.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Nicolai Jorgensen scored the only goal of the match in the 55th minute as Feyenoord Rotterdam defeated visiting Zorya Luhansk 1-0.

Group A Standings:

1. Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
2. Manchester United (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
3. Fenerbahce (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
4. Zorya Luhansk (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  Feyenoord Rotterdam defeated visiting Manchester United 1-0 on September 15.



GROUP B:

At Pireaus, Greece:

Seba scored twice (34', 65') as Olympiacos dominated visiting  Astana 4-1.

At Bern, Switzerland:

Guillaume Hoarau produced a hat trick (18', 52', PK-82') as BSC Young Boys downed visiting APOEL FC 3-1

Group B Standings:

1. APOEL FC (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
2. Olympiacos (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS; 6)
3. BSC Young Boys (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 1)
4. Astana (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  APOEL FC defeated Olympiacos 1-0 on the road on September 29.



GROUP C:

At Saint-Etienne, France:

Ricardhino's own goal in the 70th minute lifted Saint-Etienne to a 1-0 home win over Gabala.

At Mainz, Germany:

Lukasz Teodorczyk's equalizer in the 65th minute lifted RSC Anderlecht to a 1-1 road draw with Mainz 05.  Yunus Malli successfully converted a penalty kick for the hosts in the 10th minute.

Group C Standings:

1. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS; 5)
2. Saint-Etienne (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
3. FSV Mainz 05 (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
4. Gabala (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Saint-Etienne gained a 1-1 road draw with FSV Mainz on September 15.



GROUP D:

At Dublin, Ireland:

Robert Mak (71') and Giuliano de Paula (77') each scored once as Zenit Saint Petersburg came from behind to overtake Dundalk 2-1 on the road.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

Eyal Golasa scored the winning goal as Maccabi Tel Aviv knocked off AZ Alkmaar 2-1 on the road.

Group D Standings:

1. Zenit Saint Petersburg (GP: 3; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
2. Dundalk FC (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
3. Maccabi Tel Aviv (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
4. AZ Alkmaar (GP: 3; GD: -6; PTS: 1)



GROUP E:

At Rome:

Raphael Holzhauser (16'), Dominik Prokop (82'), and Olarenwaju Kayode (84') each scored once as Austria Vienna battled back from two goals down and gained a 3-3 road draw with AS Roma.  Stephan El Shaarawy scored twice (19', 34') and Alessandro Florenzi once (69') for the Wolves.


At Plzen, Czech Republic:

Tomas Horava's own goal in the 64th minute proved decisive as Astra Giurgiu knocked off FC Viktoria Plzen 2-1 on the road.

Group E Standings:

1. Austria Vienna (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
2. AS Roma (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 5)
3. Astra Giurgiu (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 3)
4. FC Viktoria Plzen (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 2)

NOTE:  Austria Vienna gained a 3-3 road draw with AS Roma on Thursday.



GROUP F:

At Genk, Belgium:

Jakub Brabec (40') and Wilfred Ndidi (GP: 83') each scored once as KRC Genk blanked visiting Athletic Bilbao 2-0.

At Vienna, Austria:

Thomas Schrammel cost Rapid Vienna two points at home with his own goal in the 66th minute as Sassuolo gained a 1-1 road draw with the Green-Whites.  Louis Schaub tallied in the seventh minute for the hosts.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. KRC Genk (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
2. Sassuolo (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. Rapid Vienna (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 3)



GROUP G:

At Vigo, Spain:

Hakim Ziyech (22') and Amin Younes (71') each scored once as Ajax Amsterdam gained a 2-2 road draw with Celta Vigo.  Andreu Fontas (29') and Fabian Orellana (82') each delivered a goal for the hosts.

At Liege, Belgium:

Edmilson Junior (PK-45'+1) and Ishak Belfodil (82') each scored once as Standard Liege came back from two goals down to gaina 2-2 home draw with Panathiniakos.  Victor Ibarbo scored both goals (12', 36') for the Shamrock.

Group G Standings:

1. Ajax Amsterdam (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
2. Celta Vigo (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 5)
3. Standard Liege (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 2)
4. Panathinaikos (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)



GROUP H:

At Lviv, Ukraine (due to war conditions in eastern Ukraine):

Viktor Kovalenko opened the scoring in the 12th minute as five different goal scorers each tallied once in Shakhtar Donetsk's 5-0 demolition of visiting KAA Gent.

At Konya, Turkey:

Abdel Hassan's equalizer in the 55th minute lifted SC Braga to a 1-1 road draw with Konyaspor.  Deni Milosovic scored for the hosts in the ninth minute.

Group H Standings:

1. Shakhtar Donetsk (GP: 3; GD: +8; PTS: 9)
2. KAA Gent (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
3. SC Braga (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 2)
4. Konyaspor (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)



GROUP I:

At Krasnodar, Russia:

Yevhen Konoplyanka's goal in the 11th minute was all the scoring as Schalke 04 knocked off FC Krasnodar 1-0 on the road.

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:

Alassane Plea scored the game's lone goal in the 13th minute as Nice picked up a nice 1-0 road victory at FC Red Bull Salzburg's expense.

Group I Standings:

1. FC Schalke 04 (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
2. FC Krasnodar (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
3. OGC Nice (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 3)
4. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 0)



GROUP J:

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Dani Quintana (56') and Rahid Amirguliyev (87') delivered the goals as Qarabag blanked visiting PAOK FC 2-0.

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

Nikola Kalinic scored twice (8', 23') as Fiorentina defeated FC Slovan Liberec 3-1 on the road.

Group J Standings:

1. Fiorentina (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 7)
2. Qarabag (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
3. PAOK FC (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
4. FC Slovan Liberec (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  Qarabag defeated visiting PAOK FC 2-0 on Thursday.



GROUP K:

At Beersheba, Israel:

Matej Pulkrab scored the only goal of Sparta Prague's 1-0 road win over Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the 71st minute.

At Milan, Italy:

Antonio Candreva scored the onle goal of the match in the 67th minute as Inter Milan defeated visiting Southampton 1-0.

Group K Standings:

1. Sparta Prague (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
2. Southampton (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. Hapoel Be'er Sheva (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
4. Inter Milan (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 3)



GROUP L:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Moussa Kone's equalizer in the 86th minute lifted FC Zurich to a 1-1 road draw with Steaua Bucharest.  Bojan Golubovic scored in the 63rd minute for the hosts.

At Ankara, Turkey:

Alfred N'Diaye (56') and Alexandre Pato (74') each scored a goal in the second half as Villarreal came back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw with Osmanlispor.  Raul Rusescu scored twice for the Turkish club during a two-minute span (23', 24').

Group L Standings:

1. Villarreal (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
2. FC Zurich (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
3. Osmanlispor (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
4. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

NOTE:  FC Zurich defeated visiting Osmanlispor 2-1 on September 29. 

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