Empoli take to European football

Empoli FC 2-1 FC Zürich
Empoli struck either side of half-time to earn a 2-1 home win on their European bow. The Tuscan outfit broke the deadlock four minutes before the break when Felice Piccolo headed in a corner from the right. Shortly after the interval Luca Antonini was fouled inside the area and converted the resultant penalty to double the hosts' lead. Empoli should have extended their advantage but were pegged back 15 minutes from time when Frenchman Alexandre Alphonse controlled a long ball from midfield and beat goalkeeper Davide Bassi with a left-footed drive.

Aris Thessaloniki FC 1-0 Real Zaragoza
Aris completed a perfect night for Greek clubs in the UEFA Cup by recording a hard-fought victory against Real Zaragoza before a sell-out Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki. The home side took an early lead on seven minutes when Avraam Papadopoulos headed in Toni Calvo's free-kick from close range. Zaragoza almost equalised just before half-time when Ricardo Oliveira's shot hit the left post and the Primera División side created further chances in the second period. However, Aris held out in Dušan Bajević's first match in charge.

Villarreal CF 4-1 FC BATE Borisov
Manuel Pellegrini's side take a substantial lead to Belarus after Nihat Kahveci helped himself to two goals. Nihat opened his account inside five minutes from a free-kick before Marcos Senna put Villarreal in control. The home side should have added to their tally before the break but had to wait until early in the second half for Nihat to extend the lead with his second goal. Jon Dahl Tomasson made it 4-0 with more than 30 minutes to play but BATE fought back well and, despite missing a penalty, grabbed a consolation through Maksim Zhavnerchik.

Everton FC 1-1 FC Metalist Kharkiv
Two missed penalties by Andrew Johnson could prove costly for the home side as Metalist took a draw back to Ukraine despite ending with nine men. Everton's early possession paid off on 24 minutes when Joleon Lescott headed in a James McFadden cross. With 21 minutes left Oleksandr Babych fouled Lescott in the box and Seweryn Gancarczyk was sent off for protesting but after Johnson's successful penalty had to be retaken for encroachment, Olexander Goryainov saved the second kick. Edmar equalised with 12 minutes left and although Babych was then dimissed after fouling Victor Anichebe in the box late on, Johnson blazed his penalty over.

SC Heerenveen 5-3 Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborg are still in with a chance of progressing after a spirited comeback from three goals down at half-time. Heerenveen made a flying start with Gianni Zuiverloon setting up Michael Bradley to opening the scoring, before Gerald Sibon added two more before the interval. The away side responded with Henrik Larsson and Razak Omotoyossi on target early in the second half, but Kristian Nielsen and Bradley restored the three-goal advantage. Larsson's second from the penalty spot completed the goal count, after Bradley had brought down Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, and kept the Swedish club in the tie.

FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti 1-2 IF Elfsborg
The Swedish champions secured a deserved victory against their Romanian counterparts after recovering superbly following Claudiu Niculescu's ninth-minute opener. Within 60 seconds Elfsborg were level as James Keene pounced on a mistake from midfielder Adrian Cristea, and just after the half-hour Keene struck again, firing a blistering shot past goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont from the narrowest of angles. Defence dominated from then on with Elfsborg controlling the game, though Dinamo almost snatched a late draw when Galliquio Castro's header came back off the crossbar 12 minutes from time.

1. FC Nürnberg 0-0 FC Rapid Bucureşti
The clash of the German and Romanian cup holders ended all square as 40,000 supporters at the Frankenstadion witnessed a disappointing goalless draw. Brazilian striker Césinha almost gave the visitors the lead early on but thereafter the hosts were on top and will rue missed chances, particularly in the last 15 minutes when Zvjezdan Misimović, Angelos Charisteas and Marco Engelhardt all went close.

RSC Anderlecht 1-1 SK Rapid Wien
A Steffen Hofmann equaliser nine minutes from time kept Rapid Wien's hopes of reaching the group stage alive in an entertaining draw in Brussels. Anderlecht took an eleventh-minute lead when Serhat Akın scored at the second attempt after being picked out by Hassan Ahmed's cross and then denied by goalkeeper Helge Payer. Rapid almost struck back on the half-hour only for the post to deny Mate Bilić but, after Hassan was twice thwarted by Payer in the second half, Hofmann stepped up to curl a 25-metre free-kick past Daniel Zítka.

Aberdeen FC 0-0 FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipro are favourites to progress to the group stages after the Ukrainian side held on for a goalless draw at Pittodrie. Vyacheslav Kernozenko saved a close-range effort from Andrew Considine on five minutes but Dnipro dominated the rest of the first half, with playmaker Serghiy Nazarenko going closest with a shot that shaved the upright on the half-hour. Chris Clark had the best opportunity for Aberdeen four minutes after the interval, cutting in from the left before curling in a shot that Kernozenko turned on to the post.

FC Paços de Ferreira 0-1 AZ Alkmaar
The Portuguese outfit were disappointed to lose their first ever game in European competition. In a match played at the Estádio do Bessa, home of Boavista FC, the northern Portugal side missed some good chances to score before suffering a goal in the dying minutes of the match. José Mota's men hit the bar through Edson in the first half and continued to give Louis van Gaal's team problems after the break with Dedé denied by the woodwork as well. However, the Dutch side created the winner at the end with Sébastien Pocognoli heading in from a corner.

FK Austria Wien 2-0 Vålerenga IF
Goals from Saniel Kuljic and Andreas Lasnik earned Austria victory at the Franz Horr Stadium. The home side had dominated from the kick-off as Milenko Ačimovič and Yüksel Sariyar went close, although at the other end Freddy Dos Santos threatened with a header. Kuljic finally opened the scoring four minutes before the interval and Lasnik doubled the lead after the hour with a well executed free-kick.