Author: Barkha Roy
Freiburg – West Ham – 1:2
After West Ham United’s 2-1 win over Freiburg in the Europa League, manager David Moyes expressed his pride in the team, which extended its unbeaten run in European competition to an English record 17 games.
West Ham, the reigning Conference Europa League champions, were level on points with the Leeds United squad of the 1960s, managed by Don Revie, and the Tottenham Hotspur team of the 1970s, led by Bill Nicholson. However, they overcame these historic teams with victory in Germany on Thursday.
Remarkably, Manchester City are currently on a 16-game unbeaten run in European competition and have the opportunity to equal West Ham’s record when they face Swiss side Young Boys on October 25.
Lucas Paquetá, the only Brazilian participant in the match, is known for his talent, and his header was spectacular, showing an incredible leap. Shortly afterwards, he almost scored again, but was ruled offside. His performance was truly captivating to watch.
Marseille – Brighton – 2:2
Brighton & Hove Albion pulled off a remarkable second-half comeback, including a late penalty, to earn a 2-2 draw against Marseille in a thrilling Europa League Group B match on Thursday.
The scoring started with Chancel Mbemba netting for the hosts, finishing expertly after a well-placed pass into the box, and Jordan Veretout quickly doubled Marseille’s lead just 90 seconds later.
Brighton’s Pascal Gross breathed new life into the match with a precise side-footed shot, taking advantage of Kaoru Mitoma’s well-executed cut-back in the 54th minute.
As the game progressed, Brighton took control of the match and got a crucial penalty two minutes before extra time when Jonathan Clauss fouled Tariq Lamptey. João Pedro, the visitors’ lone Brazilian, showed surprising skill from the penalty spot, converting with confidence under immense pressure. It was his third goal in just two European games for Brighton. He also came close to providing an assist with an excellent cross for Simon Adingra.
On the other hand, Renan Lodi, Marseille’s only Brazilian, who replaced Ndiaye in the 79th minute, had little impact on the match.
Real Betis – Sparta Prague – 2:1
Real Betis secured a hard-fought win against AC Sparta Praha with a final score of 2-1. The match was played at the Benito Villamarín Stadium in Seville.
Sparta Prague scored first through V. Birmančević in the third minute, thanks to an assist from M. Ryneš. Real Betis responded quickly, however, with Assane Diao leveling the score just six minutes later to make it 1-1.
The thrilling encounter continued and Isco was the hero for Real Betis, scoring the winner in the 79th minute with an assist from G. Rodríguez. The win extended Real Betis’ impressive run in the Europa League, showing their determination and skill on the European stage.
Abner, who was on the bench, replaced Juan Miranda in the 46th minute and showed great effort throughout the match, although he was cautioned in the 90th minute. Meanwhile, Willian José replaced Borja Iglesias in the 75th minute, but didn’t have much to do in the game.
Liverpool – Union Saint-Gillois – 2:0
In the Europa League match at Anfield on Thursday, Ryan Gravenberch scored his first goal for Liverpool, helping secure a hard-fought 2-0 win against Union St. Petersburg.
Gravenberch, who joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich on deadline day, found the back of the net in the 44th minute. The midfielder took advantage of a rebound opportunity after Union goalkeeper Anthony Moris failed to keep out a long-range shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Despite dominating possession, Liverpool came up against a resilient Union St. Gilloise side, and only sealed victory in the dying minutes of the second half. Diogo Jota, the Portuguese striker, took advantage of a counter-attack and calmly slotted the ball past Moris from inside the area.
In the first half, Darwin Núñez had a golden opportunity, but he narrowly missed it with a shot from outside the box after a low cross from Mohamed Salah.
Among the players on the pitch, Alisson Becker was Brazil’s only representative. His quick thinking started the counter-attack that led to Gravenberch’s goal. Despite a minor setback during a corner, Alisson showed a consistent performance throughout the game.
Heken – Karabakh – 0:1
The hosts hit the crossbar with a free kick in the 15th minute, but the visitors won the game with a precise goal from Brazilian Juninho in the 70th minute. It’s worth noting that his countrymen Silvo and Romão also played for Karabakh.