Europa League: Group-Stage Play Reaches Midway Point

24 games were contested on Thursday as Europa League group-stage play reached its' midway point.

GROUP A:

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Stephen Oday scored the winning goal in the 78th minute as FC Zurich knocked off visiting Bayer Leverkusen 3-2.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Jorge Larena's successful penalty kick in the 25th minute lifted AEK Larnaca to a 1-1 draw with visiting Ludogorets Razgrad.

Jody Lukoki scored in the 7th minute for the Bulgarian club.

Group A Standings:

1. FC Zurich (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
2. Bayer Leverkusen (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
3. Ludogorets Razgrad (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 1)
4. AEK Larnaca (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  Ludogorets Razgrad had a road goal in their 1-1 Thursday draw with AEK Larnaca.



GROUP B:

At Wals-Siezenheim (Salzburg), Austria:

Moanes Dabour scored twice (34', PK-59') as FC Red Bull Salzburg dominated visiting Rosenborg 3-0.

At Leipzig, Germany:

Matheus Cunha (31') and Armindo Bruma (35') each scored a goal as RB Leipzig blanked visiting Celtic 2-0.

Group B Standings:

1. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
2. RB Leipzig (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Celtic (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
4. Rosenborg BK (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 0)



GROUP C:

At Saint Petersburg, Russia:

Daler Kuzyayev scored the winning goal in the 85th minute as Zenit Saint Petersburg defeated visiting Bordeaux 2-1.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Jan Matousek scored the only goal of Slavia Prague's 1-0 road win over FC Copenhagen in the 46th minute.

Group C Standings:

1. Zenit Saint Petersburg (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
2. Slavia Prague (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. Bordeuax (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 0)



GROUP D:

At Brussels, Belgium:

Michael Frey (53') and Hasan Ali Kaldirim (57') each scored a second-half goal four minutes apart as Fenerbahce came back from two goals down to gain a 2-2 road draw with RSC Anderlecht.

Zakaria Bakkali scored both of the hosts goals in the 35th and 50th minutes.

At Trnava, Slovakia:

Mislav Orsic scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute as Dinamo Zagreb defeated Spartak Trnava 2-1 on the road.

Group D Standings:

1. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. Fenerbahce (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
3. Spartak Trnava (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)



GROUP E:

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Vladyslav Kulach's goal in the 48th minute carried Vorskla Poltava to a 1-0 road win over Qarabag.

At Lisbon:

Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute as Arsenal defeated Sporting CP 1-0 on the road.

Group E Standings:

1. Arsenal (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. Sporting CP (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
3. Vorskla Poltava (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. Qarabag (GP: 3; GD: -6; PTS: 0)



GROUP F:

At Milan, Italy:

Giovani Lo Celso scored the game winner in the 55th minute as Real Betis knocked off AC Milan 2-1 on the road.

At Luxembourg City:

Vasilis Torosidis (66') and Kostas Fortounis (81') each scored once as Olympiacos blanked F91 Dudelange 2-0 on the road.

Group F Standings:

1. Real Betis (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 7)
2. AC Milan (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
3. Olympiacos (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. F91 Dudelange (GP: 3; GD: -6; PTS: 0)



GROUP G:

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Spartak Moscow held hosts Rangers to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Villarreal, Spain:

Karl Toko Ekambi scored twice (30', 45') as Villarreal destroyed visiting Rapid Vienna 5-0.

Group G Standings:

1. Villarreal (GP: 3; GD: +5; PTS: 5)
2. Rangers (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 5)
3. Rapid Vienna (GP: 3; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
4. Spartak Moscow (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 2)



GROUP H:

At Frankfurt, Germany:

Filip Kostic (13') and Sebastien Haller (32') produced the goals as Eintracht Frankfurt blanked visiting Apollon Limassol 2-0.

At Marseille, France:

Felipe Caicedo scored the game winner in the 59th minute as Lazio defeated Marseille 3-1 on the road.

Group H Standings:

1. Eintracht Frankfurt (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. Lazio (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Marseille (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)
4. Apollon Limassol (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  In head-to-head away goals, it's Marseille 2, Apollon Limassol 0)



GROUP I:

At Sarpsborg, Norway:

Ole Jorgen Halvorsen's equalizer in the 87th minute lifted Sarpsborg 08 to a 1-1 home draw with Malmo FF.

Andreas Vindheim scored in the 79th minute for the Swedish club.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Mbwana Samatta scored twice (23', 70') as KRC Genk doubled up Besiktas 4-2 on the road.

Group I Standings:

1. KRC Genk (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
2. Sarpsborg 08 (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
3. Malmo FF (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. Besiktas (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 3)



GROUP J:

At Liege, Belgium:

Konstantinos Laifis scored the winning goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time as Standard Liege defeated visiting FC Krasnodar 2-1.

At Seville, Spain:

Roque Mesa opened the scoring in the seventh minute as Sevilla, with six players scored a goal apiece, annihilated visiting Akhisarspor 6-0.

Group J Standings:

1. Sevilla (GP: 3; GD: +9; PTS: 6)
2. FC Krasnodar (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
3. Standard Liege (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Akhisarspor (GP: 3; GD: -8; PTS: 0)

Head to head points favor Sevilla over Standard Liege (3-0; thanks to their 5-1 home win over the Belgian club on September 20).



GROUP K:

At Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic:

Pedro Henrique's equalizer in the 11th minute carried Astana to a 1-1 road draw with FK Jablonec.

Jakub Povazanec scored in the fourth minute for the hosts.

At Rennes, France:

Vitaliy Buyalskyi scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Dynamo Kiev knocked off Rennes 2-1 on the road.

Group K Standings:

1. Astana (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 5) 
2. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
3. Rennes (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. FK Jablonec (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 2)



GROUP L:

At London:

Ruben Loftus-Cheek produced a hat trick (2', 8', 54') as Chelsea defeated visiting FC BATE Borisov 3-1.

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Szsabolcs Huszti (12') and Stopira (45') each scored once as MOL Vidi blanked PAOK 2-0 on the road.

Group L Standings:

1. Chelsea (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
2. PAOK FC (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
3. MOL Vidi (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
4. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 3)

NOTE:  PAOK has the head-to-head points advantage over FC BATE Borisov (thanks to their 4-1 road win over the Belorussian club on October 4).