Europa League: Juventus, Besiktas and Crystal Palace begin with big wins

The first matchday of the 2026-27 Europa League league phase ended on Thursday, with Juventus, Besiktas and Crystal Palace among the teams to record convincing victories.

Juventus made an emphatic start in Turin as they beat NEC Nijmegen 5-0. Besiktas defeated Marseille 4-1, while Crystal Palace won 4-0 against Lech Poznan.

Ferencvaros also impressed with a 3-1 victory away to Celtic, and Union Saint-Gilloise beat Viktoria Plzen 3-0.

There were nine matches on Thursday, following the opening nine fixtures played on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s results

Benfica produced one of the standout results on the opening night by beating AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro.

Lyon came from behind to win 2-1 at Anderlecht, while Bayer Leverkusen recorded a 2-0 home victory over Celje.

Sunderland marked their return to European competition with a 1-0 win against AZ Alkmaar.

The remaining results saw Sparta Prague beat Ararat-Armenia 4-1, while Omonia edged out Celta Vigo 1-0.

Olympiacos defeated Jagiellonia 2-1, with Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Dinamo Zagreb playing out a goalless draw.

Sturm Graz also drew 0-0 with Rennes.

Wednesday, 16 September

Ararat-Armenia 1-4 Sparta Prague Omonia 1-0 Celta Vigo AC Milan 0-2 Benfica Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Celje Hapoel Beer-Sheva 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb Olympiacos 2-1 Jagiellonia Anderlecht 1-2 Lyon Sturm Graz 0-0 Rennes Sunderland 1-0 AZ Alkmaar

Thursday’s results

OFI Crete began their campaign with a 2-0 win over Hoffenheim, while Salzburg secured a narrow 1-0 victory at Levski Sofia.

The other away wins came from Torreense, who beat Lillestrøm 2-1, and Bournemouth, who defeated Real Sociedad 2-1.

Thursday, 17 September

OFI Crete 2-0 Hoffenheim Levski Sofia 0-1 Salzburg Besiktas 4-1 Marseille Celtic 1-3 Ferencvaros Crystal Palace 4-0 Lech Poznan Viktoria Plzen 0-3 Union Saint-Gilloise Juventus 5-0 NEC Nijmegen Lillestrøm 1-2 Torreense Real Sociedad 1-2 Bournemouth