On Sept. 15, 2016, 48 teams engaged in the first matchday of UEFA Europa League’s group stage. Eight games ended with a draw. However, 16 other teams won against their opponents, making their way to the knockout phase.
Matchday 1 Highlights
- Zenit Petersburg managed to overturn the score. Maccabi Tel Aviv was 14 minutes away from winning 3-0, however, the Russians won 4-3, at the Netanya Municipal Stadium.
- Feyenoord defeated Manchester United 1-0, at the Feyenoord Stadium. This was the British’s debut appearance in the UEFA Europa League.
- Hapoel Beer Sheva won 2-0 against Inter Milan at the San Siro Stadium, obtaining a surprising victory as the Italians were considered the favorites.
- Eight players received red cards in the first matchday of UEFA Europa League’s group stage. More than 90 took a yellow one.
- Colley (Genk) and Santos (Gabala) contributed to their teams’ loss as they scored on their own goal.
- Medunjanin (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Austin (Southampton), and Bailey (Genk) scored twice in their first matches of UEFA Europa League’s group stage.
- Five players succeeded to score from penalty kicks. However, Klaassen (Ajax) missed his chance in the shots lottery.
All the Results of Matchday 1
- Qarabag 2-2 Liberec
- Anderlecht 3-1 Gabala
- APOEL 2-1 FC Astana
- Astra 2-3 Austria Vienna
- AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Dundalk
- Feyenoord 1-0 Manchester United
- Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-4 Zenit Petersburg
- Mainz 1-1 St. Etienne
- Plzen 1-1 AS Roma
- Rapid Vienna 3-2 Genk
- Sassuolo 3-0 Athletic Bilbao
- Young Boys 0-1 Olympiakos Piraeus
- Zorya 1-1 Fenerbahce
- Braga 1-1 Gent
- Inter 0-2 H. Beer Sheva
- Konyaspor 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Nice 0-1 Schalke
- Osmanlispor 2-0 FC Steaua Bucharest
- Panathinaikos 1-2 Ajax
- PAOK 0-0 Fiorentina
- Salzburg 0-1 Krasnodar
- Southampton 3-0 Sparta Prague
- St. Liege 1-1 Celta Vigo
- Villareal 2-1 Zurich
The 48 teams competed for a spot in the final of the UEFA Europa League, that will take place on May 24, 2017, at the Friends Arena in Solna, in Sweden. The games of the second matchday of the Europa League’s group stage are scheduled for Sept. 29, 2016.
Written by Bianca-Ramona Dumitru
Edited by Jeanette Smith
Sources:
UEFA: UEFA Europa League latest
Image Courtesy of Amil Delic’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
