Europa League: Series-Opening Wins For Atletico, Athletic Bilbao, AZ, Sporting CP

The quarterfinal round of the Europa League commenced with the opening contest of each of the four two-game series on Thursday.


At Madrid:





Eduardo Salvia scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Atletico Madrid topped visiting Hannover 96 2-1 in game one of their two-match set.  Mame Biram Diouf kept the German club alive in the series with might still prove to a be precious away goal in the 37 minute.  Here, we see Falcao heading home the home-standing Mattress Makers' first goal in the 9th minute.


At Alkmaar, Netherlands:





Maarten Martens scored the game winner at 78 minutes as AZ Alkmaar topped visiting Valencia 2-1 in game one.  The visiting Orange stayed in the series thanks to Mehmet Topal's goal in the 51st minute. Brett Holman, who scored AZ's first goal in the 45th minute, is shown here celebrating.


At Gelsenkirchen, Germany:




Fernando Llorente scored twice (19' [shown here], 73') as Athletic Bilbao doubled up Schalke 04 on the road in game one 4-2.


At Lisbon, Portugal:





Marat Izmailov (51', shown here) and Emiliano Insua (63') each notched a tally in Sporting CP's 2-1 series opening win over FC Metalist Kharkiv.  However, a stoppage-time penalty kick from Cleiton Xavier (90'+1) put the Ukrainian club back in the series.


Getty Images photos