Europa League: Juventus, Crystal Palace and Besiktas begin with big wins as Bournemouth make history

Juventus made a commanding start to their Europa League league-phase campaign with a 5-0 victory over Dutch visitors NEC Nijmegen.

Nicolas Gonzalez opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Kerim Alajbegovic doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 24th minute. Nick Woltemade then added a third in the 35th minute to give Juventus a comfortable lead at half-time.

The goal was Woltemade’s first for Juventus since joining the Italian club from Newcastle during the summer transfer window.

Zeki Celik extended Juventus’ advantage in the 75th minute, with Randal Kolo Muani completing the scoring seven minutes from time.

Besiktas also enjoyed a convincing opening-night success, beating Marseille 4-1 in Turkey.

Ayhan Vakfali put the home side in front after 15 minutes, but Marseille levelled through Kylian Abdallah in the 29th minute.

Besiktas restored their lead through Vaclav Cerny in the 56th minute, before Emir Murillo struck three minutes later. Ernest Poku added a fourth in the 81st minute to complete a decisive victory.

Crystal Palace win on European debut

Crystal Palace marked their first appearance in European competition with a 4-0 win away to Polish side Lech Poznan.

Yeremy Pino gave Palace the lead in the 10th minute, while Chris Richards added a second in the 27th minute. Jørgen Strand Larsen made it 3-0 in the 34th minute, leaving the hosts in a commanding position at the interval.

Palace scored once more after the break, with Eddie Nketiah finding the net in the 89th minute to complete the victory.

Bournemouth claim historic first European goal

Bournemouth also began their first European campaign with a win, returning from Spain with a 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta Stadium.

Justin Kluivert put Bournemouth ahead in the 11th minute, recording the club’s first-ever goal in European competition. Ryan Vitor then doubled their lead in the 20th minute.

Real Sociedad reduced the deficit through Sergio Gomez in the 57th minute, but Bournemouth held on to secure a positive result away from home.

Elsewhere, Belgian club Royal Union Saint-Gilloise won 3-0 at Czech side Viktoria Plzen.

Salzburg recorded a 1-0 away victory against Bulgarian team Levski Sofia, while German side Hoffenheim lost 2-0 at home to Greek club Omilos Filathlon Herakliou, known as OFI Crete.