🇪🇺 UEL: Arsenal beat Bodø/Glimt; Real Betis stun Roma; Freiburg win | OneFootball

The UEFA Europa League returned on Thursday following the international break with 16 matches scheduled across Europe.

Here is what went down.

Early surge sees Arsenal beat Bodø/Glimt

Scorers: Nketiah 23′, Holding 27′, Vieira 84′

European action returned to the Emirates on Thursday as Arsenal beat Bodø/Glimt 3-0.

Most of the match was in favour of the hosts with Fabio Vieira coming closest to breaking the deadlock early on only for his attempt to go over the bar.

The visitors then had some shaky moments during the opening half which eventually led to the breakthrough.

A giveaway in the middle of the park saw Kieran Tierney rattle the ball off the post before Eddie Nketiah tapped the rebound home.

It then took only four minutes for the Gunners to find their second as Vieira’s cross found Rob Holding in the box and he thumped his header home.

But coming out after the break Bodø/Glimt ramped things up and it was not quite not cruise control any more for Arsenal.

Amahl Pellegrino, in particular, was very active on the night and almost made things a one-goal game but Matt Turner came up big on more than one occasion.

Despite the lacklustre second half, the hosts were able to add a third as substitute Gabriel Jesus teed up Vieira for 3-0.

The result means Arsenal sit top of Group A with six points while Bodø/Glimt are second with four.

Real Betis stun Roma late on

Scorers: Dybala 24′ (P); Rodriguez 40′, Henrique 88′

There was a heavyweight clash over in Italy as Serie A giants Roma fell to LaLiga side Real Betis 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

The visitors were the first threaten as Nabil Fekir’s effort hit off the post but a mistake would then undo their hard work to dominate the pitch in Rome.

VAR called play back and a handball was called against the visitors allowing Paulo Dybala to subsequently step up and slot home from the spot for 1-0.

But Roma’s lead wouldn’t last for long as some pinball in the box set up Guido Rodriguez and his rocket strike beat Rui Patrício for 1-1.

Despite an entire half of football afterward, it looked as though neither side would find a late winner but the Italian side unravelled.

Substitute Luiz Henrique scored a looping header at the death to complete the comeback for Real Betis and down Jose Mourinho’s side.

The result means Real Betis are top of Group C while Roma are in third.

Freiburg dig deep to beat Nantes

Scorers: Kyereh 48′, Grifo 72′

Second-place Bundesliga side Freiburg were also in action as they welcomed Nantes to Germany and came out on top 2-0.

The match remained 0-0 after 45 minutes of action though the hosts were in control at Europa-Park Stadion with 63% possession and more chances than the visitors.

Neither club, however, had really threatened with only three shots on target combined by half-time.

Coming out after the break however the hosts found their touch as Daniel-Kofi Kyereh made no mistake in the middle of the box to slot the ball into the far corner against a sleeping Nantes.

And with the floodgates open, Freiburg then put the game to bed when Vincenzo Grifo’s long-range strike was perfectly placed into the far right corner for 2-0.

The result means Freiburg are top of Group G while Nantes are in third.

Man United come from behind to beat Omonia

Scorers: Ansarifard 34′, Panayiotou 85′; Rashford 53′, 84′, Martial 63′

The visitors controlled most of the ball and the play in the early exchanges in front of a vocal home support but had to dig deep to win.

A swift move involving Antony and Cristiano Ronaldo culminated with Bruno Fernandes hitting the crossbar in United’s best chance of the game.

Incredibly, against the run of play, Omonia took the lead in the 34th minute. Tyrell Malacia was caught in possession high up the pitch and, following a devastating break, Karim Ansarifard finished high into the roof of the net.

Second-half substitute Marcus Rashford got the visitor’s level as, after bringing down a long ball by Fernandes, the England international cut inside to curl home an effort into the bottom corner.

Anthony Martial, having just been brought on by Ten Hag, collected a flick by Rashford before lashing home a powerful effort into the bottom corner to give United the lead.

Rashford thought he had put the game to bed, tapping home Ronaldo’s miscued shot at the back post, only for Omonia to pull one back through Nikolas Panayiotou a minute later to set up a nervy finish though United held on to win.

Real Sociedad comfortably dispatch Sheriff

Scorers: Silva 53′, Elustondo 62′

Real Sociedad took the lead not 10-minutes after the break through David Silva. The former-Man City midfielder was instrumental in the build-up before lashing a powerful effort into the top corner from within the penalty area.

Matters went from bad to worse for Sheriff as Moussa Kaybou was shown a red card for a second bookable offence and, from the resulting free-kick, the visitors doubled their lead.

Brais Méndez whipped the ball into a dangerous area at the front post and captain Aritz Elustondo rose highest to get the deftest of touches to turn the ball past the helpless Maksym Koval.

Rampant PSV thrash FC Zürich

Scorers: Jonathan Okita 87′; Vertessen 10′, 15′, Gakpo 21′, 55, Simmons 35′

PSV’s early control of the encounter bared fruit as Armando Obispso’s long ball over the top of the Zürich defence led to the opening goal.

Yorbe Vertessen used his speed to get in behind the host’s high line, catching Yanick Bresher out with a first-time finish.

Vertessen quickly doubled his tally and PSV’s lead five minutes later after a loose touch by Zürich defender Mirlind Kryeziu allowed the Belgian to break away before cooly finishing from inside the area.

PSV’s devastating ability to make the hosts pay in transition led to their third goal in the 21st minute as captain Cody Gakpo got in on the act with a low drive from the top of the box before Xavi Simmons added a fourth.

Breaking away again the former-PSG starlet played a quick give-and-go with Gakpo before finishing from close range.

PSV come storming out of the gate in the second half, picking up where they left off as Gakpo added his second and the visitors’ fifth goal of the night with a thunderous effort from outside of the area.

The hosts would score a late consolation goal as Zürich capitalised on a rare mistake by the visitors for Jonathan Okita to head home at the back post but, that’s all it would be, as PSV ran out rampant winners 5-1.

Union Berlin edge past Malmö in interrupted game

Scorers: Becker 69′

Union Berlin were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half-time as András Schafer, who was dispossessed after getting the ball caught under his feet, was shown a straight red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

The game was then stopped for a considerable amount of time in the 60th minute following some away fan disruption with fireworks being thrown onto the pitch.

When play resumed however it took only nine minutes for the 10-man Union to break the deadlock. Malmö’s high line was exploited in transition as Sheraldo Becker raced in behind to give them the lead.

That goal was enough to secure three points for the recurrent Bundesliga leaders who pick up the first win of the Europa League campaign.

Other results…

What a night in Europe!