The UEFA Europa League kicked off its second season of league phase play on Wednesday and Thursday. Eighteen matches produced 14 winners across the two days of action. Here is one stat after each match.
Betis deny Forest win, Braga start with victory
39 - PAOK Thessaloniki and Maccabi Tel Aviv cancelled each other out in Greece in a scoreless stalemate. It was a result that benefited neither team if they are hoping to make it past this stage. It was the first time that Maccabi drew against Greek opposition across 15 games. Moreover, for a club whose European games always have goals, it was perhaps surprising that none were scored. It was the first time in 39 continental matches involving MTA where the final score did not have goals.
6 - The first goals of the new Europa League campaign came in Denmark, as hosts FC Midtjylland ran away with a 2-0 victory at the expense of Sturm Graz. The markers came at the very start and very end of the contest as the Danes keep up their positive start to the campaign. Midtjylland are now on their longest winning streak in UEFA club competitions ever, having now prevailed in their last six games, qualifiers included.
8 - Nottingham Forest's return to European football saw them give up a late goal in a 2-2 stalemate at Real Betis. Antony gave the Andalusian club a point in their return to the UEL as they look to improve upon their last showing two years ago. Betis' struggles against English teams continue though - they are 1-2-7 versus Premier League opposition. They can take solace in that they have scored in each of their last eight continental contests, going 4-3-1 in that run.
18 - Sporting Braga, who shockingly failed to get past this stage last fall, scored a 1-0 home win over Feyenoord courtesy of a Fran Navarro winner 11 minutes from time. The Dutch side have not had the best of times in their recent away matches on the continental scene. Since winning their opening two games on the road in last season's Champions League, the Rotterdam-based club have shipped 18 goals in a winless run of five (0-2-3).
4 - Crvena zvezda and Celtic ended honours even in the Serbian capital, as two second half goals could not separate the former European Cup winners. In what is their return to the UEL after three seasons in the UCL, the Hoops would have been hoping for a better start. Instead, they draw a European match for the fourth time in a row. All three of their continental outings this term have ended honours even.
3 - Dinamo Zagreb impressed at home as they got the better of Fenerbahce 3-1. Dion Beljo's brace spurred the Croatian regulars to victory. After narrowly missing out on knockout football in the Champions League a year ago, they could not have asked for a better start this time around. For Fener, they remain winless against their opponents, which now stands at three games. They also lost to them back in the 2018/19 competition, drawing the other contest.
11 - Freiburg were made to sweat late on versus Basel, but in the end, the Bundesliga side held on for a 2-1 success. A goal in either half did the trick for the side, who have reached the competition's round of 16 in their two previous appearances. Basel will have to continue waiting for their maiden continental success this term. For Freiburg, it was their 11th win in the UEL proper all-time, in what is their third time at this stage of the tournament.
12 - The contrast could not be any greater from the previous stat for Malmo. The Swedes were defeated 2-1 at home to a Ludogorets team who have had many failures on the road of late. The Bulgarian champs claim their maiden road success in the UEL proper for the first time since 2019. For Malmo, however, their Europa League struggles continue, as this is their 12th defeat in the competition over their last three seasons, with a sole victory during that time.
13 - AS Roma kick off their UEL campaign with a 2-1 defeat of OGC Nice in the southeast of France. The Giallorossi, who reached the final back in 2022/23, grabbed two goals in three minutes from two defenders en route to their seventh win over French opposition (7-3-2). It is more European misery for Les Aiglons, who are now 13 matches without victory (0-4-9) since beating Sheriff Tiraspol in the 2023/24 UEFA Conference League round of 16.
Panathinaikos dominate in Switzerland, Rangers beaten
5 - A David Miculescu goal 13 minutes in did the trick for FCSB as they edged KNVB Beker holders Go Ahead Eagles 1-0 on their travels. The Romanian champions picked up from where they left off in the Europa League after an impressive 2024/25 campaign saw them reach the last 16. Thursday's win was their fifth over Dutch opposition and their first since the 2012/13 edition, where they eliminated Ajax at the round of 32.
17 - Lille left it late at home, but pulled off a 2-1 success over UEL group phase debutants Brann. Les Dogues, who are participating in the competition for the first time since the 2020/21 season, won their match 10 minutes before the end. Trying to beat the Ligue 1 club at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy during a group phase is not easy whatsoever. Lille are now 17 games without defeat at home at this stage of a UEFA club competition, a streak dating back 13 years.
7 - Aston Villa earned a 1-0 victory against Bologna, defeating the Italian side for the second year running in a league phase. Villa, two-time UEFA Cup quarter-finalists, have never featured in the Europa League proper under its current guise until this term. The same can be said for Bologna, who are now seven matches without a win on the road in continental play, stretching back to the 1999/2000 campaign.
52 - Ferencvaros refused to give up, providing late fireworks in their outing against Viktoria Plzen, the side that knocked them out last term. Aleksandar Pesic played hero for the Hungarians, scoring a 94th-minute equaliser to give them a 1-1 draw in Budapest. The remarkable fact for Fradi was the fact that they played 52 minutes - not including stoppage time - down a man, having already conceded before being reduced to 10.
10 - Rangers' woes continue as they once again fall to Belgian opposition, this time, in the form of Genk. The Smurfs prevailed 1-0 at Ibrox as former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-Gyu made the difference. Having already been knocked out of the Champions League by Club Brugge, the Gers have now lost three straight versus teams from Belgium. For Genk, they have scored in each of their last five road games in Europe, finding the back of the net 10 times during that stretch.
15 - RB Salzburg's disastrous home form in UEFA club competition went on, as a 93rd-minute goal helped Porto claim a 1-0 success. Having lost seven of eight games in the UCL last term, including all four home ties, the Austrians will need to improve quickly to avoid another early exit. Perhaps they can take solace in the fact that it was a close contest - after all, both teams mustered 15 shots each in the 90 minutes.
19 - Stuttgart impressed in front of their home faithful as they enjoyed a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo's expense. All three of the game's goals came in the second 45 as the Germans have the ideal start to the competition. Celta, who reached the semi-finals in their only previous run in the competition, have lost to a Bundesliga club for the first time in 19 seasons. The previous occasion happened in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup last 32, when Werder Bremen beat them in both legs.
14 - Lyon were made to work in the Netherlands, scoring a 75th-minute winner to edge Utrecht 1-0. Despite having more than 60% of the ball, the side that made the quarter-finals last term could only manage one goal. Still, it was an impressive feat to get the better of a Utrecht side who now see their 14-game unbeaten European run at the Galgenwaard Stadion come to an end.
2 - Panathinaikos raced to a 3-0 lead within the first quarter of their match at Young Boys. In the end, the Greeks came away as 4-1 winners, claiming the largest victory of the round. Across their last five continental matches, Pana find themselves unbeaten (2-3-0), keeping three clean sheets. During this solid run, the Athens-based club have conceded just twice since being eliminated by Rangers in the UCL back in late July.