BOURNEMOUTH, PALACE SHINE AS EUROPA LEAGUE OPENS WITH BIG RESULTS

The 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase continued on Thursday with several eye-catching results, as Bournemouth marked their European debut with a 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad in Spain. Justin Kluivert and Rayan put Bournemouth two goals ahead before Sergio Gómez pulled one back for the hosts in the second half. Despite late pressure from Sociedad, Bournemouth held on to secure a historic first European victory.

Crystal Palace also enjoyed a memorable night, defeating Lech Poznań 4-0 at Selhurst Park. The English side controlled the contest and produced a convincing performance to begin their European campaign with a comfortable victory. Palace, who qualified for the Europa League after winning the previous season's Conference League, made a strong start to their first campaign in the competition.

In Italy, Juventus produced the biggest victory of the night by thrashing NEC Nijmegen 5-0 at the Allianz Stadium. Nicolas González opened the scoring before Kerim Alajbegovic and Nick Woltemade extended the advantage, with Zeki Çelik and Randal Kolo Muani completing the rout after the break. NEC goalkeeper Nikolas Polster was also involved in two costly errors as Juventus took control of the match.

There were contrasting fortunes for Celtic and Marseille. Celtic suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Ferencváros, while Marseille were heavily beaten 4-1 by Beşiktaş in Istanbul. Beşiktaş scored three times in the second half to turn the match into a comfortable victory, while Celtic were unable to recover after conceding three goals against the Hungarian visitors.

Elsewhere, Union Saint-Gilloise defeated Viktoria Plzeň 3-0 away from home, while Portuguese side Torreense recorded a 2-1 victory over Lillestrøm in Norway. OFI Crete beat Hoffenheim 2-0, and Salzburg secured a 1-0 away win against Levski Sofia. The results completed Thursday's first round of matches, with the 2026/27 league phase continuing into Matchday Two on October 15.