Juventus top, Besiktas triumphs in Europa League opening round

On Thursday's cool afternoon, stadiums across Europe hosted the first matchday of the League Phase of the Europa League, with Juventus finishing at the top of the table and Vincenzo Italiano's Besiktas beating Marseille 4-1.

Successes of Besiktas and Torreense

Vincenzo Italiano's Besiktas dominated Marseille with a clean 4-1. The goals were scored by Fakili at 15’, Abdallah at 29’, Cerny at 56’, Murillo at 59’ and Poku at 81’. On the same matchday, Torreense, a Portuguese second‑division side, made history by winning in Norway against Lillestrom 2-1. The forwards Alfaro at 23’ and Pozo at 49’ scored, while Lillestrom’s only goal came from Olsen at 79’.

Other results of the evening

Crystal Palace began its European adventure with a 4-0 triumph over Lech Poznan. The scorers were Pino at 10’, Richards at 27’, Larsen at 34’ and Nketiah at 89’.

Bournemouth responded by winning 2-1 against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian. Kluivert opened the scoring at 11’, Rayan doubled the lead at 20’, while Gomez pulled one back for the hosts at 58’.

OFI Crete beat Hoffenheim 2-0 with goals from Cantalapiedra at 30’ and Kanellopoulos at 84’. Levski Sofia was defeated 0-1 by Salzburg, thanks to a goal from Tabakovic at 39’.

Celtic suffered a 1-3 defeat to Ferencvaros, with goals from Dele at 20’, Baur at 44’, Zacharissen at 45+1 and Arzani at 47’. Union Saint‑Gilloise finished 3-0 against Viktoria Plzen thanks to Mofokeng at 17’, Blondic at 43’ and Kricfalusi at 59’.

League Phase Standings

At the end of the matchday the league phase table has Juventus on top with three points and a +5 goal difference. Crystal Palace sits second with three points (+4), while Sparta Prague, Besiktas, Union Saint‑Gilloise and Ferencvaros complete the top‑eight zone with three points each. In the playoff zone, ninth place is occupied by OFI Crete (+2), followed by Bournemouth (+1), Lyon (+1) and Torreense (+1).

Below that, the elimination zone includes teams such as Celta Vigo, AZ Alkmaar, Levski Sofia, Celtic, Hoffenheim, Milan, Celje, Marseille, Ararat‑Armenia, Viktoria Plzen, Lech Poznan and NEC Nijmegen, all with zero points. The lower positions show negative goal differences, for example Marseille finishes with -3.

The full picture of the first Europa League matchday highlights an open competition, with Juventus already in charge but many clubs ready to fight for qualification spots. The surprising results of teams like Torreense and Besiktas suggest that the league phase will deliver further twists.