Tottenham launched their Europa League campaign with a decisive 3-0 victory over Qarabag, despite playing over 80 minutes with just 10 players after Radu Dragusin’s early red card. The win took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr, and Dominic Solanke secured the three points. However, the match brought an injury scare for South Korea’s Son Heung-min, who left the field in the 70th minute. Coach Ange Postecoglou commented, “He said he was a bit tired but I haven’t spoken to him or the medical staff yet,” highlighting the team’s reliance on their captain.
With a fit Son, Postecoglou sees the Europa League as a potential avenue for silverware, especially as he aims to end Tottenham’s trophy drought, which has lasted since 2008. The match started after a 37-minute delay due to traffic issues for the Qarabag team. Postecoglou expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s initial performance but praised their response to Dragusin’s red card, stating, “The reaction after the red card was good. We kept pressing high.”
Tottenham quickly adapted to their numerical disadvantage, taking the lead in the 12th minute when Johnson scored his third goal in three matches, following a setup by Solanke. Sarr added a second in the 52nd minute after a corner was poorly handled by Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski. Despite conceding a penalty for a foul by Yves Bissouma, which was missed by Toral Bayramov, Solanke sealed the win in the 68th minute with his second goal since joining from Bournemouth.
Qarabag’s manager Gurban Gurbanov expressed frustration over the team’s transportation issues, saying, “Imagine being caught in traffic for more than two and a half hours. There was no police to escort us.”
In other matches, Roma faced Athletic Bilbao and ended in a 1-1 draw, conceding a late equalizer at the Stadio Olimpico. The draw came amid turmoil following the sacking of coach Daniele De Rossi just four games into the season. Ivan Juric, who took over, had previously guided Roma to a 3-0 victory against Udinese but could not secure a win this time. Artem Dovbyk opened the scoring for Roma with a header from Angelino’s cross, but Aitor Paredes equalized for Bilbao in the 85th minute.
Ajax dominated Besiktas with a 4-0 win, featuring a brace from Mika Godts. Olympiakos, the UEFA Conference League winners, were defeated 2-0 by Lyon, with goals from Rayan Cherki and Said Benrahma. Eintracht Frankfurt squandered a two-goal lead against Viktoria Plzen, who equalized in stoppage time.
In earlier matches, Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce started strong, defeating Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1. Mourinho, aiming for his third Europa League title, saw Caglar Soyuncu score in the 26th minute, followed by an own goal from Christian Burgess. Rangers also triumphed, winning 2-0 against Malmo with Nedim Bajrami scoring in the first minute and Ross McCausland adding a second in the 76th minute.
