Europa League highlights, round-up: Cristiano Ronaldo scores in Man United win, Roma and Real Sociedad prevail
Thursday, September 15, 2022
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first UEFA Europa League goal at the age of 37, while Real Betis's Joaquín became the competition's all-time oldest scorer at 41.
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Man United, Roma and Real Sociedad had comfortable evenings as the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League group stage resumed.
UEFA.com rounds up the Thursday night action.
Sheriff 0-2 Man United
Erik ten Hag's men recovered from their Matchday 1 defeat against Real Sociedad, easing past the Moldovan champions in Chisinau. Jadon Sancho's neat 17th-minute finish capped a flowing team move and Cristiano Ronaldo's coolly-taken penalty, following a foul on Diogo Dalot, put paid to any hopes of a shock result for the hosts before half-time.
Key stat: Ronaldo's spot kick was his 699th club-career goal, but his first in the Europa League.
Real Sociedad 2-1 Omonoia
Ander Guevara opened the scoring in the first half with a drive from the edge of the area as the hosts dominated, but sloppy play allowed substitute Bruno to bundle the visitors briefly level on 72 minutes. Alexander Sørloth then latched on to fellow sub Takefusa Kubo's astute pass to earn the Spanish side a second Group E win.
Key stat: Omonoia played in Spain for the first time in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League group stage and also lost by a 2-1 margin, against Granada.
Rennes 2-2 Fenerbahçe
Enner Valencia hit an added-time penalty as Fenerbahçe fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a draw in France. Quickfire goals from Martin Terrier and Lovro Majer gave Rennes a two-goal cushion early in the second half, but İrfan Can Kahveci pulled one back with a fierce drive, and the home side had defender Hamari Traoré dismissed before Benjamin Bourigeaud's foul on Valencia allowed the Ecuadorian to level from the spot.
Key stat: Terrier has had a direct hand in five goals in his last seven Rennes appearances across all competitions.
Roma 3-0 HJK Helsinki
Paulo Dybala came off the bench to spearhead Roma's second-half surge against ten-man HJK, who made it to half-time at 0-0 despite captain Miro Tenho's dismissal. Dybala scored within two minutes of his introduction at the break before Lorenzo Pellegrini's strike and a first club goal for summer signing Andrea Belotti sealed victory.
Key stat: Paulo Dybala needed just 68 seconds after coming off the bench to score his first Europa League goal for Roma.
Best of the rest
• Roma's neighbours Lazio endured a miserable night in Denmark, losing 5-1 to Midtjylland, having beaten Feyenoord 4-2 on Matchday 1. The Rotterdammers put that result behind them with a 6-0 defeat of Sturm Graz.
• Real Betis winger Joaquín scored a terrific goal in his side's 3-2 win against Ludogorets to become, aged 41 years 56 days, the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Europa League, group stage to final. The record was previously held by Daniel Hestad, who was 40 years 98 days when he struck for Molde at Celtic in 2015.
• Hungarian champions Ferencváros moved a tiny step closer to the final in their home city of Budapest as they won a second Group H game, Bálint Vécsei striking ten minutes from time to beat Monaco at the Stade Louis II.
All the Matchday 2 results
Group A: Arsenal P-P PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt 2-1 Zürich
Group B: Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 AEK Larnaca, Rennes 2-2 Fenerbahçe
Group C: Real Betis 3-2 Ludogorets, Roma 3-0 HJK Helsinki
Group D: St Gilloise 3-2 Malmö, Braga 1-0 Union Berlin
Group E: Real Sociedad 2-1 Omonoia, Sheriff 0-2 Man United
Group F: Midtjylland 5-1 Lazio, Feyenoord 6-0 Sturm Graz
Group G: Olympiacos 0-3 Freiburg, Qarabağ 3-0 Nantes
Group H: Trabzonspor 2-1 Crvena zvezda, Monaco 0-1 Ferencváros
All the Matchday 3 fixtures (6 October)
Group A: Zürich vs PSV Eindhoven (18:45), Arsenal vs Bodø/Glimt (21:00)
Group B: Rennes vs Dynamo Kyiv (21:00), Fenerbahçe vs AEK Larnaca (21:00)
Group C: HJK Helsinki vs Ludogorets (18:45), Roma vs Real Betis (21:00)
Group D: Malmö vs Union Berlin (18:45), Braga vs St Gilloise (21:00)
Group E: Sheriff vs Real Sociedad (18:45), Omonoia vs Man United (18:45)
Group F: Sturm Graz vs Lazio (18:45), Midtjylland vs Feyenoord (21:00)
Group G: Freiburg vs Nantes (21:00), Olympiacos vs Qarabağ (21:00)
Group H: Crvena zvezda vs Ferencváros (18:45), Monaco vs Trabzonspor (18:45)
