On Sept. 29, 2016, the 48 teams engaged in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League competed in the second matchday of the group stage. Some of the crews obtained surprising results, while others kept the scoreboard modest to secure their positions in the groups.
Matchday 2 Highlights
- Inter Milan suffered the second loss in a row in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League’s group stage. Both Sparta Praga and Hapoel Beer Sheva defeated the Italian team.
- Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Krasnodar, Schalke, Zenit Petersburg, and APOEL obtained the second victory in a row in the current UEL season.
- Ibrahimovic led Manchester United to the first success of the 2016-17 Europa League’s group stage. The British lost the first game against Feyenoord, while in the second matchday, the crew defeated Zorya.
- Five games ended with a draw. Moreover, four other teams obtained some categorical victories.
- Caleta-Car (Salzburg) and Fabricio (Astra) each scored an own goal, contributing to their teams’ losses.
- On the other hand, Babacar (Fiorentina), Ari (Krasnodar), Athanasiadis (PAOK), Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Kokorin (Zenit Petersburg), Joaozinho (Krasnodar), and Zarate (Fiorentina) each scored twice for their teams.
- Cavusevic (Zurich) missed a penalty kick, while Gurbanov (Gabala), Joaozinho (Krasnodar), Athanasiadis (PAOK), Tielemans (Anderlecht), and Criscito (Zenit Petersburg) each put the ball in the net from a penalty shot.
- Yunuszade (Qarabag), Fred (Krasnodar), and Ranocchia (Inter) each received a red card, leaving their teams outnumbered.
- The teams scored a total of 61 goals, of which 26 were in the first half and 35 in the last 45 minutes of the game.
All the Results of Matchday 2
- FC Astana 0-0 Young Boys
- Gabala 2-3 Mainz
- Ajax 1-0 St. Liege
- Celta Vigo 2-0 Panathinaikos
- FC Steaua Bucuresti 1-1 Villareal
- Fiorentina 5-1 Qarabag
- Gent 2-0 Konyaspor
- H. Beer Sheva 0-0 Southampton
- Krasnodar 5-2 Nice
- Liberec 1-2 PAOK
- Schalke 3-1 Salzburg
- Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Braga
- Sparta Prague 3-1 Inter Milan
- Zurich 2-1 Osmanlispor
- AS Roma 4-0 Astra
- Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Rapid Vienna
- Austria Vienna 0-0 Plzen
- Dundalk 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Fenerbahce 1-0 Feyenoord
- Genk 3-1 Sassuolo
- Manchester United 1-0 Zorya
- Olympiakos Piraeus 0-1 APOEL
- St. Etienne 1-1 Anderlecht
- Zenit Petersburg 5-0 AZ Alkmaar
The games of the third matchday of the Europa League’s group stage will take place on October 20.
Written by Bianca-Ramona Dumitru
Edited by Jeanette Smith
Sources:
UEFA: UEFA Europa League latest
Image Courtesy of Johann Schwarz’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
