No word from Pierre Sage … but we can hear from Sid Lowe and Ed Aarons, who were tonight at Anoeta and Selhurst Park respectively. Their reports are below. Thanks for reading this Clockwatch.
Bournemouth’s Marco Rose on TNT: “It was very intense and tough … in the end enjoyable with the result … a brilliant first half … effort, attitude, confidence … our pressing … our possession game … in the second half we needed to suffer … not so sharp … it was a deserved win, but we need to talk about the second half … [the first half] is Bournemouth football … front-footed … really brilliant … [in the second half] we lost a little bit of intensity … I am quite happy for everyone in the club and for our fans.”
Martin O’Neill takes a much more measured tone with TNT this time: “Obviously not the start we wanted … we started brightly … first attack they had they scored … that minute before half-time … let’s see it out … we didn’t do that … we huffed and puffed after that … they deserved to win … not out of the competition but disappointing … two losses on the trot … we have to get our minds right for Sunday [against Rangers] … we need a bit more urgency … we could take a couple more risks … you might get your rewards … confidence is an amazing thing … it can drop so quickly … tomorrow we’re coming in … we’ll think about the game … but I have to push it to the side … it’s a matter of getting the energy back for Sunday … there are seven more games to go … we need to get going … do you know what? … I always worry … I worried when we won … I’ve been a worrier all my life … you worry and then you have to do something about it … my job is to try to do something about it.”
Post-match postbag. “Stopira captained Torreense in the Portuguese cup final last spring, but tonight he’s on the bench. He was a stalwart for the Cape Verdean national side from 2010 to 2026, but went on to warm the bench for Blue Sharks at the World Cup. He’s a veritable Moses of football, takes teams to the promised land, but his feet don’t tread on the grass” – Kári Tulinius
“It’s weird to think that Robbie Keane could have been standing in either technical area of the Robbie Keane Derby that is Celtic v Ferencvaros” – Peter Oh
“I think a Palace v Bournemouth final is 1,000 times more likely than a Celtic v anybody final” – Simon McMahon
“Update: Stopira came on to help shore up Torreense’s lead, after they went down to ten men” – Kári Tulinius
So after one round of matches, the Europa League table looks like this. Sure, it doesn’t mean that much if we’re being honest with ourselves, but it’s just a bit of fun, and in any case, try telling all of that to supporters of Crystal Palace, with their team second in the table. A historic victory for Bournemouth sends the Cherries into the top ten, albeit by leaning on the good old alphabet. Sunderland complete a clean sweep of wins for the Premier League, but Celtic have prepared for the weekend visit of Rangers in the worst possible way.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | Sparta Prague | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Besiktas | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Union Saint Gilloise | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Ferencvaros | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Benfica | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | Bayer Leverkusen | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | OFI | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Lyon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Torreense | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Olympiacos | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Omonia Nicosia | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Hapoel Beer Sheva | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Rennes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Sturm Graz | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Jagiellonia Bialystock | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 22 | Anderlecht | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 23 | Lillestrom | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 24 | Real Sociedad | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 25 | AZ | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 26 | Celta Vigo | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 27 | Levski Sofia | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 28 | Celtic | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 29 | AC Milan | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 30 | CM Celje | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 31 | Hoffenheim | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 32 | Marseille | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 33 | Ararat Armenia | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 34 | Plzen | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 35 | Lech Poznan | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| 36 | NEC | 1 | -5 | 0 |
Full-time scores
Besiktas 4-1 Marseille
Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros
Crystal Palace 4-0 Lech Poznan
Juventus 5-0 NEC
Levski Sofia 0-1 Red Bull Salzburg
Lillestrom 1-2 Torreense
OFI 2-0 Hoffenheim
Plzen 0-3 Union Saint Gilloise
Real Sociedad 1-2 AFC Bournemouth
FULL TIME: Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s first European adventure ends in victory. Thoroughly deserved, too. No wonder they’re one of the favourites for the whole thing.
Updated
FULL TIME: Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros
Celtic depart to a very muted soundtrack. Martin O’Neill was touchy in the pre-match interview with TNT; the post-match pow-wow will be required viewing.
FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 4-0 Lech Poznań
The Conference League champions keep on keeping on in Europe!
Updated
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. Another big chance for Orri Óskarsson, who should force Jon Martin’s deflected shot into the bottom-left corner … but allows Djordje Petrović to make a brave stop on the line! Petrović has earned his corn tonight.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 4-0 Lech Poznań (Nketiah 89)
Dwight McNeil dances down the middle and slips a pass down the right channel for Eddie Nketiah, who chops inside before completing the rout.
Updated
Crystal Palace 3-0 Lech Poznań. Radosław Murawski picks up a second booking for needlessly shoving over a Palace player, and off he goes. And then …
GOAL! Juventus 5-0 NEC (Muani 82)
GOAL! Besiktas 4-1 Marseille (Poku 81)
GOAL! Lillestrom 1-2 Torreense (Olsen 79)
The first two matches over already … the third one not so much.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. Sociedad get closer and closer. Luka Sučić rolls a delicious defence-splitter down the inside-right channel to release Orri Óskarsson into the box. Óskarsson has just Djordje Petrović, and tries to casually sidefoot across the keeper towards the bottom left. That allows Petrović to parry and the loose ball is blootered clear.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. Luka Sučić finds Sergio Gómez in acres of space down the left. A cross is viciously whipped through the six-yard box. Orri Óskarsson sticks out a leg but can’t make contact. A toenail on that, and it was in. Bournemouth suddenly looking like a team who have shipped lots of leads this season.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. A dangerous cross into the Bournemouth box from the Sociedad left. Orri Óskarsson prepares to head home from close range … only for Antonio Silva to eyebrow over the bar, just in time. Nothing comes of the corner, but Real are turning up the heat again.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. The Cherries have done a good job of containing their hosts during the last few minutes. Marcus Tavernier tries to launch a counter down the left, but he’s swarmed by blue and white shirts, and there’s nobody in red and black up with him.
GOAL! Juventus 4-0 NEC (Celik 75). It’s long been over in Turin, but Zeki Celik makes super-sure.
Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros. Some more long-range empty-net action, this time at Celtic Park, where Mariano Gómez sloppily lets the ball run to Benjamin Nygren while his keeper Ádám Varga is on manoeuvers. From 30 yards, his shot sails harmlessly over the frame of the wide-open goal.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. Evanilson is withdrawn by Marco Rose … and harrumphs his way down the tunnel with a face on. Then Mikel Oyarzabal tries to catch Djordje Petrović, on walkabout, with a floater from long range. The ball lands on the roof of the net.
Crystal Palace 3-0 Lech Poznań. Palace are protecting their big lead like the seasoned European campaigners they’ve become.
Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros. Benjamin Nygren cuts in from the right and sends a rising drive inches wide of the top-left corner. Not sure Ádám Varga would have got fingers to that.
GOAL! Plzen 0-3 Union Saint Gilloise 3 (Kricfalusi 59). Checkmate in Czechia.
GOAL! Besiktas 3-1 Marseille (Murillo 59). … and then Michael Murillo doubles it in short order!
GOAL! Besiktas 2-1 Marseille (Cerny 56). Vaclav Cerny re-establishes the Turkish side’s lead in Istanbul …
Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth. The Cherries have already given up winning positions against Manchester City, Everton, Newcastle United and Brentford this season. Not again, surely?
GOAL! Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth (Gómez 58)
Sergio Gómez cuts in from the right and crosses. A low inswinger. Mamadou Sarr flings out a leg in the hope of prodding home, but doesn’t make contact. Doesn’t matter! The ball curls its way into the bottom left, and it’s game on at Anoeta!
Updated
Lillestrom 0-2 Torreense (Pozo 49). Manuel Pozo doubles the lead for the first club from outside the top flight to play in the Europa League. (Torreense won their first Taça de Portugal last season.)
Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth. … so having said all that, Bournemouth launch their first meaningful attack of the second half, Justin Kluivert nearly skinning Mamadou Sarr for pace down the right. But Sarr sticks to his man, just. Kluivert is forced to turn tail, but Bournemouth come again and a corner’s won, from which Alex Scott shins over the bar from distance. Still, all of that has put a stop to Sociedad’s early-second-half gallop.
Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth. Pellegrino Matarazzo has clearly given his players the what-for during the break, because Sociedad have come out for the second half with renewed purpose. Now it’s Bournemouth who are struggling to get out of their final third. They’re holding firm so far, though, and will be hoping their hosts get frustrated sooner rather than later.
Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros. Celtic Park is silenced. And there are gaps all over the shop. The hosts are fortunate Bamidele Yusuf tries to con the referee with a flop over Liam Scales’s extended leg, instead of knocking the ball past his man and beating him in a footrace, which he surely would have done. He doesn’t even win a free kick, but nor is he booked for the dive. All very strange, and Celtic need to dig deep here, or things could quickly get embarrassing.
GOAL! Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros (Arzani 47)
Bamidele Yusuf, who has been a thorn in Celtic’s side all evening, drops deep, and sprays a long diagonal pass towards Daniel Arzani on the left. Arzani is in acres. He cuts infield, reaches the edge of the box, and sends an unstoppable screecher into the top-right corner! Viljami Sinisalo had no chance!
Updated
The second halves begin. And there’s big news early doors …
Half-time scores
Besiktas 1-1 Marseille
Celtic 1-2 Ferencvaros
Crystal Palace 3-0 Lech Poznan
Juventus 3-0 NEC
Levski Sofia 0-1 Red Bull Salzburg (F)
Lillestrom 0-1 Torreense
OFI 2-0 Hoffenheim (F)
Plzen 0-2 Union Saint Gilloise
Real Sociedad 0-2 AFC Bournemouth
(with apologies to Alejandro Alfaro of Torreense for failing to report his 23rd-minute goal)
GOAL! Plzen 0-2 Union Saint Gilloise (Biondic 43). And with Mateo Biondic putting USG two up at the break, it’s time for the half-time scores …
HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 3-0 Lech Poznań
What price a Palace-Bournemouth final? Going too early with this?
HALF TIME: Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth
Bournemouth have pretty much schooled Sociedad from the get-go. What an opening 45 to their first-ever European campaign!
HALF TIME: Celtic 1-2 Ferencvaros
That’s pretty much the last kick – the last flick – of the half. Martin O’Neill was raging before the game; now he’ll be on a rolling boil. Penny to be in the home dressing room at Parkhead.
GOAL! Celtic 1-2 Ferencvaros (Zachariassen 45+1)
Well that bhurst of Bhoys bhliss didn’t last long. Bamidele Yusuf turns Kieran Tierney inside out down the right, then nutmegs Callum McGregor to find Kristoffer Zachariassen, who cheekily back-flicks home from six yards!
Updated
GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Ferencvaros (Baur 44)
… but Scales and Celtic won’t give two hoots about that now! Kieran Tierney bursts into the box down the left and cuts back accurately for Mika Baur, who sweeps home from his unchallenged position, ten yards out!
Updated
Celtic 0-1 Ferencvaros. Uefa have decided Ferencvaros’s opener was a Liam Scales own goal. Bamidele Yusuf’s cross-cum-shot looked on target, but the pen-pushing classes have to justify themselves somehow.
GOAL! Juventus 3-0 NEC (Woltemade 35 pen). The on-loan Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade surely secures all three points for Juve.
GOAL! Besiktas 1-1 Marseille (Abdallah 29). Keyliane Abdallah draws Marseille – the 1999, 2004 and 2018 runners-up – level in Turkey.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-0 Lech Poznań (Strand Larsen 34 pen)
Yeremy Pino draws a foul from Radoslaw Murawski. The ref points to the spot, Jørgen Strand Larsen hammers home from 12 yards, and Palace are doing the Poznań.
Updated
Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth. The hosts are beginning to lose their supercool. Ander Barrenetxea cynically checks Adam Smith at the expense of a booking. Some referees might have had more to say about the ferocity of that shoulder barge. Then Beñat Turrientes, already on a booking, clips James Hill from behind. At this rate, they’ll be lucky to end the half, never mind the match, with ten men.
GOAL! Juventus 2-0 NEC (Alajbegovic 24). Kerim Alajbegovic doubles the Old Lady’s lead. She could learn to love it around here.
Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth. Sociedad are all over the show. Alex Scott nearly dribbles his way clear down the inside-right channel but can’t get a decent shot away. Then Marcus Tavernier slaloms elegantly down the right. Finally Scott is illegally clipped on the same flank; his long free kick is headed wide by Antonio Silva. Sociedad can’t get out.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-0 Lech Poznań (Richards 27)
A corner in from the right. Chris Richards leaps in the salmon style and powers a header into the top right! Mateusz Lis might have stopped that, but there’s no stopping Palace, who now have two goals from two attempts on target.
Updated
Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth. So nearly three for Bournemouth! Alex Scott is rugby tackled by Beñat Turrientes out on the left touchline. A booking for the Sociedad man. Scott takes the free kick himself, and his inswinger is deftly headed across Unai Marrero and off the right-hand post by Evanilson.
GOAL! Plzen 0-1 Union Saint Gilloise (Mofokeng 17)
GOAL! Besiktas 1-0 Marseille (Fakili 15)
Goals of the elsewhere variety.
Updated
GOAL! Real Sociedad 0-2 Bournemouth (Rayan 20)
Alex Scott, quarterbacking from deep, launches a long pass down the inside-right channel for Rayan, who meets the dropping ball first time with a header across Unai Marrero and into the left-hand side of the net! The Cherries making themselves at home in San Sebastian!
Updated
GOAL! Celtic 0-1 Ferencvaros (Yusuf 20)
O’Neill will be fuming all right now! Bamidele Yusuf cuts in from the right and aims a low diagonal curler towards the bottom left. It nicks off Liam Scales’s telescoped leg, but doesn’t really divert, and would surely have been going in anyway. Viljami Sinisalo nowhere near it.
Updated
Celtic 0-0 Ferencvaros. Martin O’Neill was in a foul mood before the game; he’d have been properly fuming had Adam Bagi met Bamidele Yusuf’s fine inswinger from the right with the header it deserved. Wide and high.
GOAL! Juventus 1-0 NEC (Gonzalez 9). Two-time European champions Juventus will feel they’re slumming it ever so slightly in the Europa. Nicolas Gonzalez gives them the fast start they’ll have been expecting.
GOAL! Real Sociedad 0-1 Bournemouth (Kluivert 10)
Adrien Truffert is sent scampering down the left. He crosses low. Justin Kluivert times his run perfectly, opening his body and flicking into the bottom left. A simple move, crisply executed. The offside flag goes up, but VAR gets involved and the man who took Bournemouth’s first kick in European football gets their first goal too!
Updated
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Lech Poznan (Yeno 10)
Terry Yegbe takes a throw from the Poznan left touchline. Across the face of his own box. It’s a suicidal effort. Yeremy Pino intercepts, and he’s clean through down the middle. Pino enters the box and steers a shot across the keeper and into the bottom left. Selhurst Park erupts!
Updated
Crystal Palace 0-0 Lech Poznan. Palace’s debut in Uefa’s secondary competition has started well. Yeremy Pino with a determined slalom down the inside-left channel that nearly comes off. And then …
Real Sociedad 0-0 Bournemouth. A long cross from the left finds Rayan at the far post. He should really be powering a header goalwards, six yards out, but unselfishly attempts to tee up Evanilson by knocking it back into the middle. Bad choice. The ball’s blocked and cleared.
Real Sociedad 0-0 Bournemouth. It’s an open start at Anoeta. Orri Óskarsson runs at Bournemouth down the left; Patrick Kluivert and Evanilson nearly open the hosts up down the right.
Celtic 0-0 Ferencvaros. Celtic are on the front foot early doors. All of the action in the Ferencvaros box. A couple of scrambles, a couple of corners. The Hungarians can’t get out.
Whistles are blown across Europe, and the 8pms are underway. Justin Kluivert with Bournemouth’s first kick in Uefa competition!
The 5.45pm kick-offs have finished. Your classified check …
Levski Sofia 0-1 Red Bull Salzburg
OFI Crete 2-0 Hoffenheim
OFI added to their tally with a late Giorgos Kanellopoulos goal. It all means that the Europa League table, with just over one half of Matchday 1 complete, looks like this. Too early?
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sparta Prague | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Benfica | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | OFI | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Lyon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Olympiacos | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Omonia Nicosia | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Sunderland | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Hapoel Beer Sheva | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Rennes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Sturm Graz | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | AFC Bournemouth | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Besiktas | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Celtic | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Ferencvaros | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Juventus | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Lech Poznan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Lillestrom | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Marseille | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | NEC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Plzen | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Real Sociedad | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Torreense | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Union Saint Gilloise | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Jagiellonia Bialystock | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 29 | Anderlecht | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 30 | AZ | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 31 | Celta Vigo | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 32 | Levski Sofia | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 33 | AC Milan | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 34 | CM Celje | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 35 | Hoffenheim | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 36 | Ararat Armenia | 1 | -3 | 0 |
TNT’s Connie McLaughlin asks Celtic boss Martin O’Neill to “talk to us about the thinking behind” replacing goalkeeper Sam Johnstone with Viljami Sinisalo … and receives an unnecessarily abrupt and cranky response. “No I’ll not talk to you about the thinking behind that … he was always going to play … believe it or not, Connie, my job is not actually to explain every single situation to you … do you know what I’ll do? … I’ll tell the fans … through my Celtic TV.”
Would he like to talk about the other three changes? “No, absolutely not … I don’t want to be ruinous here of this situation … start again, and tell me all about it … give me the rest of the changes … [McLaughlin tells him] … I’m delighted you’re taking about James Forrest … he’s been a fantastic player … getting on a little bit … he’s been a fantastic impact sub … let’s see what he can do … can he last the game? … I doubt it very much … thank you.”
Well that was a lot more awkward than it needed to be. McLaughlin is certainly earning her money tonight.
Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage talks to TNT. “During the way from the training ground to the stadium with the team, the driver put clips [of the Conference League final win] on the coach … it was incredible … it is something [the players] will keep in their head all their lives … something really special … this is an opportunity to do something different.”
Bournemouth boss Marco Rose speaks to TNT Sports. “Excited for the club … everyone is really happy for our fans … it wasn’t necessary to rotate too much … we need to take care of the Liverpool game on Sunday but first of all we want to win this game … the team played well so far, even if the results are not looking like this … we have to be ready.”
Updated
Bournemouth team news
Real Sociedad: Marrero, Beitia, Martin, Sarr, Gomez, Fort, Turrientes, Herrera, Barrenetxea, Oyarzabal, Oskarsson.
Subs: Remiro, Munoz, Gorrotxategi, Goncalo Guedes, Ochieng, Kubo, Marin, Pacheco, Soler, Zakharyan, Sucic, Marchal.
AFC Bournemouth: Petrovic, Smith, Hill, Silva, Truffert, Rayan, Scott, Adams, Tavernier, Evanilson, Kluivert.
Subs: Di Gregorio, Cook, Soler, Brooks, Christie, Doak, Diakite, Toth, Rodriguez, Allan.
Bournemouth manager Marco Rose goes with the same XI that started the 2-2 draw with Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Updated
… but Bournemouth are the story tonight. Palace are the reigning Conference League champions; the Lisbon Lions won the European Cup, for goodness sake. They’ve already been down this road. But this evening the Cherries make their debut in continental competition, and their first port of call is the chic city of San Sebastián. Let Ben Fisher tell you about their 17-year journey from the brink of despair to the Basque Country.
Crystal Palace team news
Crystal Palace: Benitez, Richards, Disasi, Ahanor, Khalaili, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell, Kamada, Larsen, Pino.
Subs: Matthews, Canvot, Sarr, Nketiah, McNeil, Tomiyasu, Osorio, Mingueza, Chilwell, Williams, Benetton.
Lech Poznan: Lis, Pereira, Monka, Yegbe, Gurgul, Murawski, Rodriguez, Walemark, Palma, Sayyadmanesh, Ishak.
Subs: Obremski, Pruchniewski, Moutinho, Agnero, Hakans, Bengtsson, Gumny, Jagiello, Szymczak, Skrzypczak.
Palace, making their debut in the Europa League, are unchanged from the 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich Town. Axel Disasi starts despite his dismissal against the Tractor Boys, domestic punishments not carried over into Europe.
Updated
Celtic team news
Celtic: Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Baur, Hassan, Sorensen, Forrest, Duran.
Subs: Johnstone, Doohan, Lotomba, Trusty, Nygren, Hogh, McCowan, Tounekti, Murray, Ralston.
Ferencvaros: Adam Varga, Oliver Nagy, Raemaekers, Gomez, Cadu, Adam Nagy, Corbu, Yusuf, Zachariassen, Arzani, Bagi.
Subs: Dibusz, Zohore, Birmancevic, Keita, Levi, Osvath, Kovacevic, Bero, O’Dowda, Lakatos, Madarasz, Lisztes.
Celtic make four changes following the Scottish League Cup debacle at Ibrox. Viljami Sinisalo replaces Sam Johnstone in goal, Oliver Sorensen takes Benjamin Nygren’s midfield spot, while Haissem Hassan and James Forrest come into the attack at the expense of Kasper Hogh and Sebastien Tounekti.
Updated
Two of Matchday 1.2’s matches have started already. The half-times …
Levski Sofia 0-1 Red Bull Salzburg
OFI Crete 1-0 Hoffenheim
Haris Tabakovic opened the scoring for RB Salzburg on 39 minutes; OFI are leading thanks to a goal by Aitor Cantalapiedra on the half-hour. OFI Crete isn’t a travel programme presented by Chris Evans, by the way: OFI stands for Heraklion Sports Club, Heraklion being the largest city on Crete and the fourth-biggest in Greece, and yes I am killing time until the 8pms.
Matchday 1 started yesterday. Of course it did. It was a great night for Sunderland, who enjoyed a successful return to the European stage after a 53-year hiatus; not so great for Ruben Amorim, who is already feeling heat at Milan. Your classified check …
AC Milan 0-2 Benfica
Anderlecht 1-2 Lyon
Ararat Armenia 1-4 Sparta Prague
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 CM Celje
Hapoel Beer Sheva 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Olympiacos 2-1 Jagiellonia Bialystock
Omonia Nicosia 1-0 Celta Vigo
Sturm Graz 0-0 Rennes
Sunderland 1-0 AZ
Preamble
The Europa League is back, baby. This season featuring Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and, somehow, Celtic. All kick-offs are 8pm unless stated. It’s on!
Besiktas v Marseille
Celtic v Ferencvaros
Crystal Palace v Lech Poznan
Juventus v NEC
Levski Sofia v Red Bull Salzburg (5.45)
Lillestrom v Torreense
OFI v Hoffenheim (5.45)
Plzen v Union Saint Gilloise
Real Sociedad v AFC Bournemouth
