Day 3 of the Europa League group stage, which featured 15 matches on Thursday October 26, 2023, has just come to a close. Marseille, Liverpool, Brighton, AS Roma and the majority of the big guns won.
Group A: Olympiakos get the better of West Ham
Olympiakos outclassed West Ham 2-1. The hosts opened the scoring in the (37th min) with a goal from Kostas Fortounis. Rodinei made it 2-0 in the 45th minute. West Ham reduced the deficit in the (87th min) through Paqueta. TSC Backa Topola lost to Freiburg (3-1). Serbian side TSC Backa got the ball rolling in the 13th minute through Nemanja Petrovic. Freiburg responded and then took the lead with Vincenzo Grifo scoring 3 goals (in the 49th, 59th and 74th minutes). West Ham, on 6 points and level on points with Freiburg, are in 1st place. Olympiakos with 4 points is 3rd. TSC Backa closes the table with 1 point.
Group B: Brighton beat Ajax, Marseille win against AEK
Brighton dominated Ajax Amsterdam (2-0). Joao Pedro gave Brighton the lead in the 41st minute. Ansu Fati made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute.
Marseille finally win the Europa League after two draws. The Olympiens won (3-1) against AEK Athens of Greece. Vitinha opened the scoring for the Phocéens on 27 minutes. AEK equalized in the 52nd minute, with Orbelin Pineda coming on at the restart. Marseille were almost immediately awarded a penalty for a foul on Vitinha. The Greek goalkeeper was also sent off. The Moroccan Harit converted the penalty in the 59th minute.Marseille were awarded another penalty in the 67th, converted by Veretout.
Marseille lead the group with 5 points.AEK with 4 points are 2nd.Brighton with 4 points are 3rd.Ajax with 2 points are last.
Group C: Betis win at Aris, Sparta and Rangers cancel each other out
Sparta Prague and Glasgow Rangers were unable to settle the tie. Final score (0-0). In the other match in the group, Betis Sevilla won away against Aris Limassol (0-1), with a goal from Spanish-Senegalese nugget Assane Diao (75th min). In the group standings, Betis are 1st with 6 points, followed in 2nd place by Sparta Prague with 4 points. Rangers are 3rd with 4 points.Aris Limassol are 4th with 3 points.
Group D: Atalanta and Sporting both draw
Sturm Graz and Atalanta played out a 2-2 draw. Alexander Prass scored in the 13th minute for Strum Graz, while Atalanta responded with a goal from Luis Muriel in the 37th minute. Luis Muriel then gave Atalanta the lead just before half-time in the (45th min). Strum Graz managed to pull a goal back in the (80th min) through Tomi Horvat's penalty.
The group's other match between Rakow Czestochowa and Sporting Portugal also ended in a 1-1 draw. Sebastian Coates scored the 1st goal of the match in the 14th minute for the Portuguese, who had been outnumbered since the 6th minute. Rakow set the record straight in the (79th min) with a goal from Fabian Piasecki. At the end of matchday 3, Atalanta lead the group with 7 points. Sporting are 2nd with 4 points, Sturm Graz with the same number of points are 3rd.Rakow are 4th with 1 point.
Group E: Liverpool beat Toulouse, Union topple LASK
Liverpool beat Toulouse 5-1. The Reds scored in the 8th minute through Diogo Jota. Toulouse came back in the 16th minute through Thijs Dallinga. But Wataru Endo doubled Liverpool's lead in the 30th minute. Darwin Nunez tripled the lead in the 33rd minute. Ryan Granvenbech took part in the festival with a goal in the 65th minute, before a final strike from substitute Mohamed Salah (90th+3 minutes).
Union St Gilloise topple LASK (2-1). Moses Usor gave LASK the lead in the (24th min) away against Union St Gilloise. Union equalized in the 80th minute through Cameron Puertas and snatched victory in the 90th minute. Liverpool with 9 points are 1st in the group. L'Union and Toulouse with 4 points are 2nd and 3rd.LASK with 0 points are 4th.
Group F: Rennes becomes group leader
Rennes won in Greece against Pana (1-2). Rennes opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a goal from Amine Gouiri. Arnaud Kalimuendo doubled the lead in the 50th minute. Fotis Ionnadis reduced the deficit for Pana in the 61st minute. Rennes leads the group with 6 points, followed by Pana on 4. Villarreal with 3 points and Maccabi Haifa with 1 point are 3rd and 4th respectively. They also have a game in hand.
Group G: AS Roma 3/3
AS Roma beat Slavia (2-0). AS Roma wasted no time in opening the scoring. Eduardo Bove made his mark in the 1st minute. Lukaku followed suit in the 17th minute. Servette and Sherriff Tirapsol played out a 1-1 draw. Servette de Genève kicked off the match in the (41st min). Enzo Crivelli scored, David Ankeye equalized for the Sheriff in the 80th minute.
AS Roma lead the group with 9 points. Slavia, despite defeat, remain 2nd with 6 points. Servette and Sheriff, with 1 point each, are 3rd and 4th.
Group H: Leverkusen and Molde thrash their rivals
Bayer Leverkusen defeated Qarabag 5-1. Florian Wirtz opened the scoring for Leverkusen in the 5th minute. Qarabag pulled a goal back in the 16th minute when Toral Bayramov scored from the penalty spot. Leverkusen regained the lead through Alex Grimaldo in the 29th minute. Victor Boniface scored in the 35th minute. Grimaldo then Tapsoba scored the 4th and 5th goals in the 55th and 58th minutes.
Molde also did their homework against BK Hacken, who were thrashed 5-1. Molde were already leading 3-1 at half-time. Norwegian goals were scored by Fredrik Gulbrandsen (6th), Magnus Eikrem (27th) and Emil Breivik (30th). For Swedish side BK Hacken, the goal came from Momodou Lamin Sonko (21st). Molde brought the score to 5-1 with second-half goals from Eikrem (56th) and Martin Bjornbak (90th).
In the standings, Bayer consolidate their lead with 9 points.Qarabag remain 2nd with 6 points. Molde are 3rd with 3 points. BK Hacken, with zero points, is last in the group.
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— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) October 26, 2023
