Europa League 2016: Latest Tables, Scores After Thursday's Group Matches
Southampton cruised to a 3-0 win in their first match of the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League on Thursday, easily disposing of Sparta Prague.
Manchester United started their campaign with a shocking loss in the Netherlands, as Feyenoord beat the Premier League giants 1-0 thanks to a goal from midfielder Vilhena.
Competition debutants Sassuolo continued their Cinderella run with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, and Zenit Saint Petersburg completed an epic comeback, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-3 despite trailing by three goals with 20 minutes left to play.
Here's a look at the results:
| Qarabag FK | 2-2 | Slovan Liberec |
| Rapid Wien | 3 : 2 | Genk |
| Sassuolo | 3 : 0 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Viktoria Plzen | 1 : 1 | Roma |
| Astra Giurgiu | 2 : 3 | Austria Wien |
| Mainz 05 | 1 : 1 | Saint-Etienne |
| Anderlecht | 3 : 1 | FK Qabala |
| Feyenoord | 1 : 0 | Manchester United |
| Zorya | 1 : 1 | Fenerbahce |
| BSC Young Boys | 0 : 1 | Olympiakos |
| APOEL Nicosia | 2 : 1 | FC Astana |
| AZ Alkmaar | 1 : 1 | Dundalk |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3 : 4 | Zenit St. Petersburg |
| Standard Liege | 1 : 1 | Celta Vigo |
| Panathinaikos | 1 : 2 | Ajax |
| PAOK Thessaloniki FC | 0 : 0 | Fiorentina |
| Salzburg | 0 : 1 | FC Krasnodar |
| Nice | 0 : 1 | Schalke 04 |
| Konyaspor | 0 : 1 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Braga | 1 : 1 | Gent |
| Osmanlispor FK | 2 : 0 | Steaua Bucuresti |
| Villarreal | 2 : 1 | FC Zurich |
| Inter | 0 : 2 | Hapoel Beer Sheva |
| Southampton | 3 : 0 | Sparta Prague |
The current group standings:
| 1 | Feyenoord | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Fenerbahce | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Zorya | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | APOEL Nicosia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Olympiakos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | FC Astana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | BSC Young Boys | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Anderlecht | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| 2 | Saint-Etienne | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Mainz 05 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | FK Qabala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 1 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Dundalk | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | AZ Alkmaar | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Austria Wien | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Roma | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Viktoria Plzen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Astra Giurgiu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Sassuolo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
| 2 | Rapid Wien | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Genk | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Athletic Bilbao | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| 1 | Ajax | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Celta Vigo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Standard Liege | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Panathinaikos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | Gent | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Braga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Konyaspor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Schalke 04 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 | FC Krasnodar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Salzburg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Nice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 1 | Slovan Liberec | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Qarabag FK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Fiorentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | PAOK Thessaloniki FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Southampton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
| 2 | Hapoel Beer Sheva | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Inter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 4 | Sparta Prague | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| 1 | Osmanlispor FK | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| 2 | Villarreal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | FC Zurich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Steaua Bucuresti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
Recap
Charlie Austin gave Southampton a quick two-goal lead against Sparta Prague, ensuring the Saints would enjoy a carefree night and start their Europa League bid with a win.
Per Squawka Football, the English striker has enjoyed a steep rise in his career:
Jay Rodriguez added a third goal for good measure on what was a quiet night for Southampton, who took the lead in Group K, tied on points with Hapoel Beer Sheva.
The Israeli side shockingly beat Inter Milan 2-0 at the San Siro, embarrassing the Nerazzurri, who rested several key players with an eye on the upcoming rivalry match with Juventus.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia (h/t Football Italia), Inter forward Eder described the loss as "ugly":
"There’s no such thing as an easy game in football nowadays. We were unable to take the lead in the first half after that chance that landed on my feet.
We dropped off psychologically and after their goal we didn’t manage to react. It was an ugly defeat. It’s a shame, because after Pescara we could’ve done with another victory to boost our confidence, but we clearly need to work.
You could tell they were in better shape, as they played two Champions League preliminary rounds already. We struggled and need to understand what went wrong so we can improve in future.
"
The Red Devils produced a dreadful performance in Rotterdam and ran into a late goal from Vilhena, who scored from a slight offside position to give the hosts an unexpected win.
Feyenoord have started the Eredivisie campaign in fantastic form and showed it on Thursday, while United seemed disinterested and couldn't produce much danger of note. Sport Witness summarised the first half:
The second half wasn't any different, and if anything, Feyenoord became more dangerous as the half wore on. Marcos Rojo struggled in particular, but none of the Mancunians made a strong impression.
There were reasons for celebration over in Italy, as debutants Sassuolo, who were without star forward Domenico Berardi and several other regular starters, surged past Athletic in the second half to win 3-0.
ItalianFootballTV's Marco Messina was as shocked as everyone:
Juventus loanee Pol Lirola opened the score after a sensational run, and Gregoire Defrel and Matteo Politano added to the lead. The Neroverdi, who played in Italy's fourth division before an incredible rise that started in 2006, share the lead in Group F with Rapid Wien, who beat Racing Genk 3-2.
The most spectacular of the early matches was the contest between Zenit and Maccabi, where the visitors scored four goals in 20 minutes to bridge a three-goal deficit. AccaTracker App couldn't believe it:
Djordjevic scored the decisive goal that gave the Russians the win.
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