European football is back on the agenda with Champions League and Europa League action underway. And on Thursday night, we saw some of Europe’s biggest sides open their Europa account and Arsenal new boy Marquinhos burst onto the scene with a goal and an assist as the Gunners opened with a victory.
FC Zurich 1-2 Arsenal
The early Europa League 2022 betting odds have installed Arsenal as favourites and they justified that position with a well-earned win over Swiss club Zurich.
Head coach Mikel Arteta made wholesale changes to his side in anticipation of another big weekend in the Premier League. And captained by former club skipper Granit Xhaka, the youngsters came through.
19-year-old forward Marquinhos announced himself to the Arsenal fans with a fantastic breakaway goal with just 16 minutes on the clock. Fabio Vieira started the move with a pass to Eddie Nketiah and he found Marquinhos is space and the debutant hit a beauty of a finish high into the net.
When Nketiah fouled Fidan Aliti, Mirlind Kryeziu levelled from the penalty spot just before the break. But Nketiah made soon amends, heading home the winner from a Marquinhos cross.
Manchester United 0-1 Real Sociedad
The Red Devils became the first team to take points from league leaders Arsenal last week with a 3-1 win which few neutrals predicted, a result which made my SBOTOP colleague James fall back in love with football.
But the mood at Old Trafford was sombre on Thursday night as the crowd observed a minute’s silence following the sad news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Cristiano Ronaldo started for the Red Devils and he came close to scoring a few times, but he watched in dismay as the hosts went one down on the hour.
Lisandro Martinez was harshly judged by VAR to have handled in the penalty area and Brais Mendez smashed home a brilliant penalty.
Ludogorets 2-1 Roma
Jose Mourinho’s Roma has made a decent start to their league campaign with 10 points from five games placing them fifth in the Serie A table. But they had a shocker in Bulgaria on Thursday night, going down to Ludogorets following a frantic final 20 minutes.
The Serie A side dominated possession and the shot count by 19 to 10 with six to three on target, but they had a shock when Brazilian midfielder Cauly fired home a clinical shot on 72 minutes.
I Giallorossi thought they’d grabbed a draw when Eldor Shomurodov headed home a cross from Lorenzo Pellegrini on 86. But two minutes later, Nonato sent the home fans wild with a well-aimed cross shot.
HJK Helsinki 0-2 Real Betis
In other Europa League 2022 news, Real Betis had a more comfortable night in Finland as a brace from striker Willian Jose gave Los Verdiblancos a 2-0 win over Helsinki.
The La Liga high-flyers were totally dominant, firing in 20 shots on the Fins goal, but they had to wait until first half injury time when William Carvalho was fouled in the penalty area and Willian slotted the spot-kick home in the bottom right corner.
The 30-year-old Brazilian, who has just signed for Betis after a year on loan from Real Sociedad, doubled his tally and Betis’ lead when he reacted first to a corner by finishing from close range.
Lazio 4-2 Feyenoord
Lazio’s recent Serie A clash with Napoli resulted in a 2-1 loss which left the Romans down in ninth place in Serie A, so a Europa League clash at home to Dutch side Feyenoord was a good chance to get back to work, away from the pressure of the Italian league.
And the players responded quickly, taking control of the game with two goals in the opening quarter of an hour. Luis Alberto opened the scoring, converting from a pass by Matias Vecino and when Ciro Immobile put Felipe Anderson through, the former West Ham man doubled the lead with a calm finish.
Vecino made it three before half an hour had passed, converting a corner from close range and the Uruguayan star slotted home his second and Lazio’s fourth when he latched on to a through ball from Luis Alberto.
And Vecino’s all-action night continued when he fouled Santiago Gimenez in the penalty area and the Mexican striker climbed to his feet to slam home the penalty.
Gimenez scored his and Feyenoord’s second with two minutes left on the clock and then he thought he had a chance for a hat-trick on 90 minutes when the referee awarded a second penalty, but VAR stepped in to ensure Lazio completed their two-goal win.
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