Author: Barkha Roy
West Ham – Backa Topola – 3:1
In Group A, last season’s Conference League winners, West Ham, claimed a hard-fought victory. After conceding Sebros’ goal in the 48th minute, the Londoners managed to respond with THREE goals in just sixteen minutes (in the 66th, 70th and 82nd minutes).
Ajax – Marseille – 3:3
In Group B, both matches were very productive. In the clash between two former Champions League Cup winners, Ajax and Marseille, the teams scored six goals between them.
Let’s note that in their national leagues: Ajax are in 12th place, and Marseille round off the top three. At the same time, French coach Marcelino recently resigned after just seven games (this came after a meeting between representatives of the fans and the club’s management).
In the opening game, Ajax led 2-0 after 20 minutes, but Marseille managed to equalize before half-time (the French also hit the crossbar). Taylor put the Dutch ahead early in the second half, but in the 78th minute Aubameyang scored twice to make the final score 3-3. Renan Lodi was the only Brazilian in the game, but he was replaced by Leonardo Balerdi in the 80th minute.
Brighton – AEK – 2:3
In another group match, AEK scored twice and tournament debutants Brighton responded twice with precise shots from Brazilian João Pedro from the penalty spot. But the British didn’t even have enough to equalize. In the 84th minute, Ponce gave the Greeks the win and the lead in the quartet after one round.
Note that two Brazilians played for Brighton. Igor Julio’s dream debut was marred by a point-blank miss and a slow reaction time, as well as Dunk’s lack of command. He needs time to adapt. On the other hand, João Pedro made history by coolly converting two penalties, showing seriousness and hard work, but occasionally losing the ball and wasting chances.
LASK – Liverpool – 1:2
.@Darwinn99‘s leveller in Linz 🎯#UEL pic.twitter.com/4kmiyNzQLD
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 22, 2023
Liverpool, competing in the Europa League for the first time since finishing runners-up in 2016, fielded their reserves against LASK. In the 14th minute, Flecker scored Liverpool’s goal. The English managed to recover at the start of the second half, when Klopp released his starting players. Nunez beat Laval from the penalty spot before Diaz put the visitors ahead. Salah added the finishing touches – the Egyptian came on for the last 15 minutes and, in the 88th minute, completed the move with a goal. The achievement marked Jurgen Klopp as the first manager to achieve 50 European victories with Liverpool.
Rangers – Betis – 1:0
In the second half, the hosts managed to hit the post and the crossbar before Sima scored the winner in the 68th minute. After that, Betis stepped up their game, but failed to equalize. For the Spanish club, Abner played the whole match, Luis Enrique was substituted in the 72nd minute and Willian José came on for the last 20 minutes.
Sheriff – Rome – 1:2
Sheriff could have opened the scoring in the 35th minute, but Mbekele hit the post. The local fans got even angrier just before half-time when Kiki scored an own goal – 0-1. In the 57th minute, Tovar leveled the score. However, Romelu Lukaku gave Roma the win eight minutes later – 2:1. Brazilian Ricardinho played the last 20 minutes of the match without affecting the result.
Bayer – Hacken – 4:0
Bayer Leverkusen dominated Swedish side Haken, scoring two goals in each half. Among the other matches on Matchday 1, we highlight the game between Atalanta and Rakov (2:0). The second goal was scored by Brazilian Ederson.