French side Lyon edged Crystal Palace 3-2 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, while Sunderland scored a stoppage-time winner to break the hearts of Portuguese second-division side Torreense.
Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Benfica and Bournemouth also recorded victories as several clubs maintained their winning starts to the league phase.
For Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage, the defeat marked a painful return to familiar surroundings as the UEFA Conference League champions suffered their fourth loss of the season across all competitions.
“It’s a very disappointing return because we lost. I can’t take satisfaction from coming back home or seeing familiar faces when the result isn’t there,” Sage told UEFA.com.
“The scoreline may have been close, but there was a big difference in the way the two teams played. We were nowhere near our usual standards in the first half.”
Lyon took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes through Corentin Tolisso before Ernest Nuamah doubled the hosts’ advantage in first-half stoppage time.
Yeremy Pino pulled one back for Palace early in the second half, but Pavel Sulc restored Lyon’s two-goal cushion with a close-range finish.
Daichi Kamada struck again for the visitors with nine minutes remaining, setting up a tense finale. However, Lyon held on to secure their second consecutive victory in the league phase.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen followed up their opening 2-0 win with a commanding 4-0 victory away to Polish side Lech Poznan.
AC Milan also cruised to a 4-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg, with Italian teenager Alphadjo Cisse scoring a hat-trick.
Club-record signing Goncalo Ramos completed the scoring in the 72nd minute, although a red card for Filippo Terracciano took some of the shine off the victory for Ruben Amorim’s side.
Sunderland break Torreense hearts with late winner
At the Estadio Municipal de Leiria, Portuguese Cup winners Torreense appeared on course to earn a memorable draw against their Premier League opponents until Noah Sadiki struck in the 93rd minute to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory for Sunderland.
Torreense, who sit 15th in Portugal’s second division, stunned the visitors in the 37th minute when centre-back Volnei Feltes shrugged off a weak challenge before unleashing a powerful 30-yard strike that left Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs rooted to the spot.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris responded by introducing first-team regulars Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee shortly before the hour mark. The changes paid off as Jules Ahoka found the equaliser soon afterwards.
A lengthy VAR review then denied Sunderland a late penalty, seemingly giving Torreense hope of securing a famous result. However, Sadiki struck deep into stoppage time, firing home the winner to snatch victory for the English side.
Torreense coach Carlos Simoes was left devastated by the late setback.
“Conceding a goal in the last minute is a blow to the chest,” he said. “The players are in the dressing room, devastated.”
Fellow Premier League side Bournemouth enjoyed a successful European home debut, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Sturm Graz. Evanilson, Rayan and Alvaro Rodriguez were all on target as Bournemouth secured an impressive result.
Juventus also staged a comeback to claim a 2-1 away win over Celta Vigo. Hugo Alvarez put the Spanish hosts ahead before Nick Woltemade, on loan from Newcastle, scored his second European goal in as many appearances to level the contest. Randal Kolo Muani then struck in stoppage time to complete the turnaround.
Meanwhile, Celtic’s difficult start to the season continued as they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat away to Benfica. The Scottish champions have now lost four of their last five matches, underlining their recent struggles.
AFP
