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Sunderland’s unbeaten run in the Europa League ended with a 2-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadium of Light. Dinamo opened the scoring through a fierce strike from Luka Stojkovic, before the midfielder set up Dion Drena Beljo to double the lead before halftime.
Sunderland and Celtic Europa League Action
Sunderland pushed to respond after the break as Wilson Isidor saw a header chalked off for offside two minutes into the second half. Kevin Danso subsequently hit the crossbar and Brian Brobbey went close, but Régis Le Bris’ team fell to their first defeat in four Europa League matches, adding to a difficult run of form that leaves them at the bottom of the Premier League.
Meanwhile, substitutes Callum Osmand and Camilo Durán inspired Celtic to their first win in the competition with a 3-2 victory over Besiktas. Martin O’Neill’s team looked headed for a seventh loss in 11 matches and bottom place when Junior Olaitan scored on the rebound after Sam Johnstone saved his 54th-minute penalty.
Osmand struck the equalizer with his first touch in the 62nd minute immediately after coming on as part of a triple change, and the 20-year-old then provided the assist for Durán to give the hosts the lead. Although Besiktas substitute Orkun Kokcu equalized from long range, Celtic reclaimed the advantage within 60 seconds when Durán finished a winner from six yards out in the 87th minute, setting up a clash against Portuguese second-tier side Torreense next.
Bournemouth and Milan Results
Bournemouth extended their winning run to seven matches with a 3-1 victory away against 10-man Sparta Prague. Marco Rose’s team secured their fourth win from four matches in their debut European campaign, though they initially fell behind in the first half following a goal by Gambian forward Ebrima Singhateh, moments after Lewis Cook missed a penalty that hit the post.
Sparta Prague’s Tobias Guddal received a second yellow card within two minutes of his side taking the lead. Bournemouth capitalized when Tyler Adams leveled in the 57th minute by smashing a loose ball into the bottom corner. Evanilson then put them ahead in the 81st minute with a low finish across the goalkeeper, and Rayan added a third goal at the death.
Milan suffered a 2-0 home defeat against Ferencvaros, allowing the Hungarian club to maintain their 100% record in Europe alongside Bournemouth. Haiti international Lenny Joseph scored twice in the second half at San Siro to secure the win over the seven-time European champions, despite Ferencvaros having Bamidele Yusuf sent off.
Milan sit outside the top 24 with only three points at the halfway stage of the league phase. “I won’t give up on this competition. As long as we’re not mathematically out of it, we’ll keep fighting in this competition, just as we do in the others,” Milan’s coach, Ruben Amorim, said.
Marseille and Juventus Victories
In Germany, Marseille secured their first three points of the competition with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, courtesy of a solo effort from Amine Gouiri. The forward broke the deadlock in the 77th minute by collecting the ball near the halfway line, driving past defenders, and firing a right-footed shot into the net.
Juventus claimed a 2-1 away win against AZ Alkmaar. Teun Koopmeiners opened the scoring in the 19th minute against a side captained by his brother Peer, sweeping home a first-time finish after Randal Kolo Muani beat his marker down the right and delivered a cutback to the edge of the area.
Kolo Muani doubled the advantage eight minutes before halftime by capitalizing on an error caused by the visitors’ high press before cutting inside and driving a low shot into the far corner. Mexx Meerdink scored late for AZ, but the hosts were unable to find an equalizer, leaving Juventus fifth and level on 10 points with Union Saint Gilloise and Olympiacos.
