Thursday, September 20, 2018

Europa League: Chelsea, Lazio, Bhoys Open Group-Stage Play With Thursday Wins

Group-stage play in the Europa League commenced on Thursday with 24 games.

GROUP A:

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Benjamin Kololli's penalty kick in the 61st minute provided all the scoring in FC Zurich's 1-0 road win over AEK Larnaca.

At Razgrad, Bulgaria:

Kai Havertz scored twice (38', 69') as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Ludogorets Razgrad 3-2 on the road.

Group A Standings:

1. Bayer Leverkusen (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. FC Zurich (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Ludogorets Razgrad (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. AEK Larnaca (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



GROUP B:

At Leipzig, Germany:

Fredrik Gulbrandsen scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as FC Red Bull Salzburg defeated RB Leipzig 3-2 on the road.

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Leigh Griffiths' goal in the 87th minute carried Celtic to a 1-0 home victory over Rosenborg.

Group B Standings:

1. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Celtic (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. RB Leipzig (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0) 
4. Rosenborg BK (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



GROUP C:

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Pieros Sotiriou's equalizer at 63 minutes enabled FC Copenhagen to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Robert Mak scored for the Russian club in the 44th minute.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Jaromir Zmrhal's goal in the 35th minute proved to be all the scoring in Slavia Prague's 1-0 victory over visiting Bordeaux.

Group C Standings:

1. Slavia Prague (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Zenit Saint Petersburg (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Bordeaux (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Zenit Saint Petersburg scored a road goal in their 1-1 Thursday draw with FC Copenhagen.



GROUP D:

At Trnava, Slovakia:

Matej Oravec scored the only goal of the match in the 79th minute as Spartak Trnava defeated visiting RSC Anderlecht 1-0.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Izet Hajrovic scored twice (27', 57') as Dinamo Zagreb dominated visiting Fenerbahce 4-1.

Group D Standings:

1. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. Spartak Trnava (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Fenerbahce (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)



GROUP E:

At Lisbon:

Raphinha (54') and Jovane Cabral (88') delivered the goals as Sporting CP blanked visiting Qarabag 2-0.

At London:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice (32', 56') to help carry Arsenal to a 4-2 home victory over Vorskla Poltava.

Group E Standings:

1. Arsenal (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Sporting CP (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Vorskla Poltava (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)
4. Qarabag (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



GROUP F:

At Luxembourg City, Luxembourg:

Gonzalo Higuain scored the lone goal of AC Milan's 1-0 road win over F91 Dudelange in the first-ever UEFA group-stage match for a Luxembourgian club.

At Piraeus, Greece:

Olympiacos and visiting Real Betis battled to a 0-0 stalemate

Group F Standings:

1. AC Milan (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Real Betis (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Olympiacos (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. F91 Dudelange (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  In the disciplinary points department, it's Real Betis at -2, compared to Olympiacos' -4.



GROUP G:

At Villarreal, Spain:

Scott Arfield (67') and Kyle Lafferty (76') each scored once as Rangers battled back to gain a 2-2 road draw with Villarreal.

Carlos Bacca (1') and Gerard Moreno (69') each scored once for the Yellow Submarine.

At Vienna, Austria:

Goals from Artem Timofeev (OG-50') and Thomas Murg (68') carried Rapid Vienna to a 2-0 home blanking of Spartak Moscow.

Group G Standings:

1. Rapid Vienna (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Rangers (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Villareal (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Spartak Moscow (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Rangers scored two road goals in their 2-2 Thursday draw with Villarreal.



GROUP H:

At Marseilles, France:

Luka Jovic scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Eintracht Frankfurt knocked off Marseille 2-1 on the road.

At Rome:

Ciro Immobile's game-winning penalty kick in the 84th minute lifted Lazio to a 2-1 win over visiting Apollon Limassol.

Group H Standings:

1. Eintracht Frankfurt (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Lazio (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Apollon Limassol (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Marseille (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Eintracht Frankfurt scored two road goals on Thursday against Marseille.



GROUP I:

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Enzo Roco scored the winning goal in the 69th minute as Besiktas defeated visiting Sarpsborg 08 by a score of 3-1.

At Genk, Belgium:

Leandro Trossard (37') and Mbwana Samatta (71') each scored once as KRC Genk blanked visiting Malmo FF 2-0.

Group I Standings:

1. Besiktas (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. KRC Genk (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Sarpsborg 08 (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)
4. Malmo FF (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



GROUP J:

At Seville, Spain:

Ever Banega (8', PK-74') and Wissam Ben Yedder (49', 70') each scored twice as Sevilla demolished visiting Standard Liege 5-1.

At Akhisar, Turkey:

Viktor Claesson's goal in the 26th minute carried FC Krasnodar to a 1-0 road win over Akhisarspor.

Group J Standings:

1. Sevilla (GP: 1; GD: +4; PTS: 3)
2. FC Krasnodar (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Akhisarspor (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Standard Liege (GP: 1; GD: -4; PTS: 0)



GROUP K:

At Rennes, France:

Hatem Ben Arfa converted the game-winning penalty kick in the opening minute of second-half stoppage time as Rennes defeated visiting FK Jablonec 2-1.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Marin Anicic (21') and Roman Murtazayev (90'+5) each scored once as Astana gained a 2-2 road draw with Dynamo Kiev.

Viktor Tsygankov (11') and Denys Garmash (45'+1) each scored once for the hosts.

Group K Standings:

1. Rennes (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Astana (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FK Jablonec (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

NOTE:  Astana scored two road goals in their Thursday 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev.



GROUP L:

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Willian scored the only goal of Chelsea's 1-0 road win over PAOK FC in the seventh minute.

At Budapest, Hungary:

Jasse Tuominen (27') and Yegor Filipenko (85') each scored once as FC BATE Borisov blanked MOL Vidi 2-0 on the road.

Group L Standings:

1. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Chelsea (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. PAOK FC (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. MOL Vidi (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

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