Plzen snatch glory in Rome
Viktoria Plzen had a hand in one of them, unexpectedly triumphing 2-1 at AS Roma. Certainly, the Czech side have already had success in European cups, but they went into the match on Italian soil as significant underdogs. This is evidenced by the pre-match odds (10:1), which did not give Viktorka much chance of success at all.
"An amazing night in Rome. I dreamed of it and it came true, so I'm happy for that. I think we are celebrating a historic win for the club and a beautiful victory for the whole of Czech football," said goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka in his post-match interview.
Thanks to this result, Plzen has seven points in the Europa League table and are close to qualifying for the knockout phase already.
While the Czechs received nothing but praise, the Italian press was merciless towards Roma. "Disaster in Rome. The home side played a half-time horror," wrote the Corriere dello Sport.
"The boos from the stands at the end of the first half spoke volumes. The spectators were surprised by the performance of the visitors, who were also very effective," added Gazzetta dello Sport.
Martin Hysky's charges proved that they know the recipe to defeat the famous Italian club. In December 2018, Plzen also beat AS 2-1 at home in the Champions League, but points on the opponents' soil are even more valuable.
History made in Gibraltar
A big story was also written in Gibraltar on Thursday, where local side Lincoln Red Imps took on Polish side Lech Poznan and won 2-1. It was the first-ever European cup win for a side from the tiny British territory!
For a long time, it looked like the two teams would share the points in a 1-1 draw. However, in the 88th minute, Oliva Christian Rutjens scored with a precise header to seal the victory that will be written in gold in the club's annals.
On the one hand, there was great euphoria; on the other, frustration with the result and the game.
"Our fans deserve an apology. I feel terrible, we all feel terrible. It's an embarrassing defeat; we let a lot of people down. Our opponent played a really good game, and they deserve congratulations for that, but that's no excuse.
"We should have given a much better performance today in every aspect of the game, regardless of the circumstances, the pitch..." explained the coach of the Polish giants at the press conference.
Just for comparison, while the entire population of Gibraltar is approximately 39,000, Lech Poznan regularly attracts over 30,000 fans to their stadium. No wonder, then, that the bookmakers were offering 11:1 odds for the home side to win before the match.
English clubs suffer huge upsets
Two huge disappointments also came very unexpectedly for Premier League clubs in the continental competitions, as Crystal Palace and Aston Villa suffered shock defeats as well.
Unai Emery's men went to the Netherlands to take on the Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League. Perhaps no one expected that the current 12th team in the Eredivisie could beat one of the elite teams of the Premier League 2-1.
Indeed, the start of the season did not see the Villans at their best, but their form has gone up steeply in recent weeks, making this loss a genuine surprise. It could've been prevented, too, as Emiliano Buendia missed a penalty kick in the 79th minute that would have tied the game at 2-2. But that didn't happen, and the underdogs celebrated again, this time at odds of 7.5:1.
The biggest surprise in terms of odds (18:1) came from Larnaca, who stunned all with a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park. For Crystal Palace, the first-round match of the Cypriot club should have been a warning, as they overcame AZ Alkmaar 4-0 at home.
If anyone thinks that the Eagles only lost because the mainstays were given time off, they would be wrong. Palace's starting lineup included virtually all their stars - Jean Philippe Mateta, Ismaila Sarr, and Marc Guehi. And that still wasn't enough.
Although the home side had more of the ball, they only managed one shot on target. The decisive goal for Larnace came in the 51st minute from thirty-one-year-old striker Riad Bajic, for whom this will surely be a career highlight.
