LAST UPDATE | 9 Nov 2023
EUROPA LEAGUE
West Ham 1-0 Olympiacos
LUCAS PACQUETA GOT West Ham’s Europa League campaign back on track with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Olympiacos.
The Brazil midfielder crashed in a second-half volley to keep the Hammers on top of Group A and to the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.
It was also a measure of revenge for West Ham, who had accused the Greek team of celebrating their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture two weeks ago as if they had won the Europa League itself.
Olympiacos fans created a hostile atmosphere that night in Athens, unfurling a huge banner across one stand reading ‘Tonight you dine in hell’.
The London Stadium, by contrast, could never be referred to as a cauldron of noise, and besides, ‘Tonight you dine in Westfield’ does not have the same ring to it.
Nevertheless, the place was crackling at kick-off with the Hammers, last season’s Europa Conference League winners, in need of a victory to keep their continental destiny in their own hands.
But a workmanlike but limited Olympiacos proved a tough nut to crack in the opening 45 minutes.
Said Benrahma dragged an early shot wide and then saw a better one saved by visiting goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis.
From the corner James Ward-Prowse’s cross was headed straight at Paschalakis by Nayef Aguerd.
Jarrod Bowen, on the day he earned another call up to the England squad, nodded Vladimir Coufal’s cross wide before Paschalakis was called into action again by Benrahma’s low drive.
Two more Aguerd headers were off target before Olympiacos had their first shot in anger, shortly before half-time, with on-loan Wolves forward Daniel Podence volleying Francisco Ortega’s cross wide.
Ward-Prowse should have given his side the lead on the hour when he met a cutback from Bowen, but the midfielder’s shot was straight at Paschalakis.
But Paqueta, the best player on the pitch, finally broke the deadlock after Bowen’s square pass found Ward-Prowse.
The former Southampton midfielder chipped it forward into the area for Paqueta to fire home on the volley from.
The goal was initially ruled out by an assistant referee’s flag, but a VAR check showed the Brazilian was onside and referee Matej Jug, who had infuriated West Ham with some strange decisions all evening, got the biggest cheer of the night when he signalled a goal.
It was a fourth assist in four European outings for Ward-Prowse, who was overlooked by England again earlier in the day, more than a year after his last call-up.
Paqueta pointedly went to the 3,000 travelling fans to celebrate, probably because the West Ham players were targeted by laser pens from Greek supporters in Athens.
West Ham survived a late scare when Mady Camara rattled a post but they held on to complete their European revenge mission.
Rangers 2-1 Sparta Prague
Rangers moved clear into second place in Europa League Group C with what turned out to be a nervy 2-1 win over Sparta Prague at Ibrox.
The two sides fought out a goalless draw in the Czech Republic last month but it took only 11 minutes for Brazilian striker Danilo to get the breakthrough before midfielder Todd Cantwell added a second in the 20th minute.
The visitors smartened up after the break however, with substitute Lukas Haraslin reducing the deficit in the 77th minute and although Danilo soon had the ball in the net again it was ruled out after VAR check for a foul and in the end the home players and fans were glad to hear the final whistle.
Philippe Clement has now gone six games unbeaten since taking over as Light Blues boss and incremental improvement is clear but they were holding on at the end
Real Betis have nine points, Rangers have seven, Sparta Prague have four and Aris Limassol just three.
Rangers host Aris Limassol later in the month before concluding their campaign next month with a trip to Spain to face Real Betis and there is plenty still at stake.
The home side were buoyed by their commanding 3-1 Viaplay Cup semi-final win over Hearts on Sunday and Clement made one change with centre-back Ben Davies in for Leon Balogun, who, along with left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, was not included in the European squad by former boss Michael Beale.
Rangers’ first chance came in the fifth minute when a cut-back from Cantwell just missed the sliding Danilo, wearing a mask again to protect a cheekbone injury.
However, the Gers striker soon took advantage of a horror mistake by the visitors, intercepting a lazy backpass from defender James Gomez before racing through to slip the ball past keeper Peter Vindahl for his third goal in four games.
The Czech side were rattled and Vindahl soon had to make a save from a spectacular Cantwell effort.
At the other end, Rangers keeper Jack Butland tipped a header from Gomez over the bar for another corner which came to nothing, before Rangers stretched the lead.
Danilo took possession deep in the visitors’ half, moved the ball onto the right-hand side for Cantwell who turned back inside Gomez before bending a drive into the far corner for his first goal of the season and once again the home fans were celebrating.
Sparta players came together in an impromptu ring to try to sort things out but it got no better.
In the 27th minute a poor clearance from Sparta captain Asger Sorensen from an Abdallah Sima cross ended at the feet of Danilo and he smashed the outside of the post with a drive from 16 yards and 10 minutes later skipper James Tavernier came close with a 25-yard free-kick.
Gomez was having a torrid night and his slip allowed Cantwell to run clear on to a Connor Goldson pass but his unconvincing shot was blocked by the foot of Vindahl.
There was no surprise when Gomez failed to emerge for the second half with Victor Olatunji also staying inside as Qazim Laci and Tomas Wiesner came on for Czech side who began to push Rangers back for the first time, with Laci sending a header past the post just after the hour mark.
Clement’s side could not get going and in the 69th minute Cantwell made way for young attacker Ross McCausland to give a much-needed energy boost to the Govan side.
Still Sparta had the upper hand and Haraslin just missed the target with a shot into the ground following a corner.
Vindahl made saves from McCausland and midfielder Ryan Jack as Rangers tried to reassert themselves but they found themselves under real pressure when Haraslin played a one-two with Angelo Preciado and swept the ball into the net from 10 yards.
Danilo looked like he had immediately restored Rangers’ two-goal lead but Italian referee David Massa checked his pitch side monitor and decided that the Gers attacker had tripped Serensen to get his chance.
Butland made a fine save from Haraslin’s powerful drive as Rangers defended desperately for a valuable three points which looked like being a lot easier earned at the interval.
Ajax 0-2 Brighton
Brighton took control of their Europa League destiny with a commanding 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena to complete back-to-back victories over the Dutch giants.
A goal in each half from Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra meant Roberto De Zerbi’s side moved into the qualification spots in Group B for the first time on their debut European campaign, with a performance that matched the ease with which they dispatched the four-time European champions at home two weeks earlier.
Since then, Ajax had appointed a new manager in John van’t Schip, but despite an uptick in domestic form it never looked like they had the firepower to unduly trouble Brighton, who could have won by a greater margin had Joao Pedro, Adingra and Fati not wasted good chances.
Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, meanwhile, replaced goalscorer Fati in the 65th minute.
Despite their struggles this season, it was Ajax who made the brighter start. After 13 minutes, Kristian Hlynsson found himself with space to drift into with the ball and shot from 25 yards, though it was a comfortable save from Bart Verbruggen.
The opening goal for Brighton was against the run of play, and came from an Ajax error. Silvano Vos was under little pressure in midfield but carelessly gave the ball to Adingra, who moved it calmly into the path of Fati to roll it beyond Diant Ramaj in the home side’s goal.
De Zerbi’s side kept their hosts largely at arm’s length for the remainder of the first period, coming to life in added time before the break when Fati looked to return Adingra’s favour in assisting his goal.
The pair linked up well down the right of Ajax’s box, but after a clever pass by the goalscorer Adingra’s shot to Ramaj’s near post was deflected behind off the legs of the goalkeeper.
Ajax had won twice in the Eredivisie since being beaten at the Amex Stadium two weeks previously, dragging themselves off the bottom of the league and into midtable.
Yet despite reaching half-time here having enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, they had rarely troubled Verbruggen as they sought a result to finally kick start their European campaign.
Pedro, the competition’s joint-top scorer at the start of play, danced through Ajax’s defence early in the second half a lashed an effort into the side netting. The Brazilian received a first senior national team call-up on Monday and was inches from marking it with a fifth Europa League goal of the campaign.
Instead it was Adingra who would double Brighton’s lead minutes later, timing his run perfectly to get on the end of Fati’s pass and unleashing an unstoppable, rising drive into Ramaj’s top corner.
Fati had the chance to get his second and Brighton’s third when Ramaj presented the ball to Karou Mitoma, Ajax saved from further embarrassment only by a poor touch from Fati as the pass was played in to him.
They came within inches of a lifeline 15 minutes from time. Brian Brobbey struck first time with his left foot as the ball arrived into the box, and his shot beat Verbruggen before hitting the post, rolling along the goal-line and striking the opposite upright.
It was to be as close as Ajax would come, as Brighton earned a first away win in Europe to cement their position in the group ahead of their final two games.
CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Aston Villa 2-1 AZ Alkmaar
Ollie Watkins came to Aston Villa’s rescue as Unai Emery’s side hit back to beat AZ Alkmaar.
The striker celebrated his England call-up to nod in with nine minutes left for a 2-1 win and put Villa on the brink of the Europa Conference League knockout stages.
Diego Carlos’ controversial goal – heading in a corner which should have never been given – quickly cancelled out Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener.
Victory left Villa joint-top of Group E, behind Legia Warsaw on their head-to-head record, knowing a point from their final two games would guarantee progress.
Legia’s 2-0 win over Zrinjski Mostar earlier on Thursday had put the Polish side three points clear in the group.
Villa knew victory would virtually secure second spot and their superiority was telling early, the hosts thinking they had the lead after just three minutes.
Ezri Konsa’s shot was deflected behind and, from the corner, Watkins header was cleared off the line by Pavlidis. The ball ran to Leon Bailey and his cross was nodded in by Clement Lenglet – only for VAR to rule the goal out with Bailey offside.
Lenglet almost gifted Alkmaar an opener, though, when Pavlidis seized on his loose pass and tried to lob Emi Martinez before horribly misjudging Ibrahim Sadiq’s superb cross.
Mat Ryan tipped Youri Tielemans’ shot behind as Villa looked to regain some momentum but there would have been frustration for Emery as their early edge slipped away.
Alkmaar even had their own goal disallowed three minutes before the break when a neat move ended with Pavlidis tapping in, although the striker was comfortably offside.
The striker then tested Martinez after Villa played themselves into trouble as the visitors ended the half on top.
It proved a warning sign as, six minutes into the second half, the striker opened the scoring with a goal of pure simplicity.
Villa were caught out by Riechedly Bazoer’s ball over the top as Pavlidis ran clear of Lengent and beat Martinez for his 15th goal of the season.
Alkmaar had something to cling to, having been 3-0 down at the same stage in the Netherlands two weeks ago, and Yuki Sugawara’s shot deflected wide.
Yet Villa contentiously levelled after an hour. Lucas Digne’s cross was blazed over by Boubacar Kamara but referee Luis Godinho inexplicably gave a corner.
Somewhat inevitably, when Bailey delivered the ball Diego Carlos nodded in.
It gave Villa renewed confidence and, with time running out, Watkins grabbed the winner when he stole in ahead of Jordy Clasie to nod in Douglas Luiz’s fine pass.
PAOK 2-2 Aberdeen
Jamie McGrath, that is a BEAUTY 🤩#UECL pic.twitter.com/UlRHiZOLI5
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 9, 2023
Jamie McGrath’s 30-yard free-kick earned Aberdeen a point against PAOK in Greece but it was not enough to keep the Dons in the Europa Conference League beyond Christmas.
McGrath struck soon after PAOK took the lead midway through the second half after fighting back from an early opener from Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes.
The 2-2 draw in Thessaloniki earned Aberdeen their second point in Group G but PAOK moved to 10 points, while Eintracht Frankfurt’s win over HJK Helsinki moved the Germans on to nine points after four games.
The damage in the group had been done when PAOK fought back from a two-goal deficit to win at Pittodrie deep in stoppage-time two weeks earlier.
Aberdeen started with top goalscorer Bojan Miovski on the bench and Duk seized his chance in the starting line-up.
The Dons took the lead in the 14th minute after Nicky Devlin played a one-two with Ryan Duncan and delivered a low cross. Duk rolled his marker and netted on the turn from eight yards.
The hosts were level nine minutes later. Aberdeen centre-back Slobodan Rubezic lost a tackle with Taison and failed to track his opponents’ run properly. The Brazilian played a one-two and slotted home.
McGrath might have wondered whether the video assistant referee would intervene after Vieirinha escaped with a yellow card for stamping on his ankle.
The Dons survived some serious pressure to go in level at half-time. Rubezic hit his own post as he blocked a cross, Vieirinha tested the Dons with some teasing crosses and Brandon hit the post.
Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos made two saves in the opening minutes of the second half before the Dons came back into it without threatening.
PAOK put the pressure on with a series of set-pieces and Mbwana Samatta eventually nodded home from a crowded goalmouth in the 67th minute.
The Greek side’s lead only lasted three minutes when McGrath found the corner of the net with a well-struck free-kick after Duk had been pushed.
The Republic of Ireland midfielder was soon the victim of a penalty award despite not touching his opponent, Giannis Konstantelias. The decision was reversed after a VAR review but it was the second time in 10 minutes that a PAOK player had escaped punishment for an outrageous penalty-box dive.
Miovski replaced McGrath in the 78th minute but neither the Macedonian striker nor any of his team-mates would get a late chance to keep the Dons in the qualification hunt.
It was PAOK who finished the stronger team. Stefan Schwab missed a great headed chance and Roos saved from Taison before Aberdeen held out from some sustained pressure.
Aberdeen’s only late attacks came via several long throws from Richard Jensen but none of them led to a chance.
