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That took 78 seconds – and remember, Sunderland scored at 90+3 of 90+5 in their last game against Torreense. The Prem, problems, but in Europe they’re flying!

Poznan are bottom of the Europa League and already, we’ve seen why. The ball goes back to Lis, who sells Gurgul short with the ball out wide. Angulo snaps into the challenge, needs only one touch to set, and crosses for Tutierov to head home his first Sunderland goal!

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© Photograph: Tomasz Jedrzejowski/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Tomasz Jedrzejowski/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Tomasz Jedrzejowski/Shutterstock

Bayer Leverkusen hat in der UEFA Europa League einen Pflichtsieg gefeiert. Entscheidender Mann war Jonas Hofmann mit zwei Toren.

The four Premier League clubs playing in the lesser continental competitions face each other on Sunday – but three are struggling domestically

The sun shone. The temperature was in the high 20s. There was a mood of great conviviality. If you were struggling with the official allocation, it turned out you could just email the president of Torreense and he’d sort you out. Were these “Nuno-tickets” real? It turned out they were. Not only that, but you could sit anywhere you wanted in a stadium too big for the game and, if you happened to have gravitated to the comfortable hospitality seating at the back of the lower tier, the beer was inexplicably free.

Locals in Leiria seemed bewildered but could hardly have been more accommodating. A beer pump had been installed outside a patisserie on the Praça Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, whose owner soon found fans happy to help stack empty barrels if that facilitated the free flow of Sagres. “There was a meeting at the town hall to explain these are not hooligans,” said the owner of a radical leftist flammkuchen restaurant between the square and the cathedral. “They told us the club comes from the labour movement and I found that very interesting.” And how had she found the fans? “Noisy, but with a quirky sense of humour.”

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© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

An impossible dream realised: the Vitality Stadium staging European football, where the Europa League is becoming an oasis for Bournemouth. No wins yet in the Premier League, but beating Sturm Graz following up winning away at Real Sociedad should calm the domestic pressures mounting on Marco Rose. A pair of Brazilians secured club history, with Evanilson’s first-half header followed by Rayan’s later drive, a clincher coming just as the Austrian visitors were pushing hard for an equaliser. Álvaro Rodríguez’s stoppage-time penalty extended the celebrations.

Flag day at the Vitality. Elvis Presley’s high baritone and Andy Williams’ tenor on the public address system marked a different type of occasion. Bournemouth have come a significant distance. “Minus 17 to European dreams” read a banner in the Steve Fletcher stand, marking the journey from the foot of the Football League to becoming a model, continental club. Milan visit next week, an occasion to further broaden the smile of Bill Foley, Bournemouth’s financier present in the posh seats. “A long time coming,” said Bournemouth’s long-serving captain, Adam Smith. “The fans were up for it, the players were up for it.”

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© Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

© Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

© Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

• Sage loses 3-2 to former side; Benfica 4-1 Celtic

• Juventus go top with 2-1 win over Celta Vigo

Pierre Sage endured a frustrating return to Lyon in the Europa League as his Crystal Palace side lost 3-2 to his former employers at the Groupama Stadium.

Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring for the hosts and Ernest Nuamah doubled Lyon’s advantage late in a first half without a shot on target for the visitors. Yéremy Pino halved the deficit five minutes after the break before Pavel Sulc restored the Ligue 1 side’s two-goal advantage. The Palace substitute Daichi Kamada pulled one back with nine minutes remaining in a better second half for Palace, who could not find an equaliser.

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© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

⚽ Europa League updates from the 5.45pm BST kick-offs
⚽ Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Email Michael

3 min: Torreense 0-0 Sunderland

O’Nien, who knows a little bit about lower-league football having joined Sunderland in League One back in 2018, heads just wide from a corner. The 31-year-old really should have done better. Sunderland are playing in their pink away kit that they sported in the defeat to Ipswich. Régis Le Bris is donning something of a pre-season vibe – t-shirt and trackies – in the Sunderland dugout.

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© Photograph: Pauline Figuet/Getty Images

© Photograph: Pauline Figuet/Getty Images

© Photograph: Pauline Figuet/Getty Images

⚽ Europa League updates from the 8pm BST kick-offs
⚽ Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Email Simon

Hello world! We have 10 late Europa League games to get our teeth into tonight, plus eight in the Conference League and a token effort from Mansfield and Oxford in League One, any of which we might get distracted by if they look exciting enough. Bournemouth’s Marco Rose is hoping his team recover from the “real slap” they suffered at the hands of Chelsea at the weekend against Sturm Graz, while Celtic’s fans wait to find out if Camilo Duran’s child has been born in time for the Colombian to make it to Lisbon to play Benfica. Elsewhere, two classic names of European club football face each other as Anderlecht, former Uefa Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup winners, head to Dinamo Zagreb, former Fairs Cup winners and Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finalists, for what surprisingly is only a fifth meeting, while Celta Vigo and Juventus play for the third time, with both previous encounters having ended in home wins.

Tonight’s fixtures in full, then (all 8pm unless they obviously aren’t):

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© Photograph: John Walton/PA

© Photograph: John Walton/PA

© Photograph: John Walton/PA

Black Cats can reboot season against Torreense in Europa League in a break from tough start to domestic campaign

There is a pleasing symmetry about Sunderland’s Europa League trip to Portugal to face Torreense on Thursday night. The club’s last competitive venture on European soil, 53 years ago, was the second leg of a European Cup Winners’ Cup second-round tie against Sporting in Lisbon for the FA Cup holders, then in the Second Division.

In a striking parallel, second-tier Torreense prompted widespread surprise by beating Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final last season. The reward was a place in the Europa League and their chances of reaching the next phase of the competition early next year were boosted when they beat Lillestrøm 2-1 in Norway last month.

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© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

• Hoops beaten again after chastening loss to Rangers

• Juventus hammer NEC, Besiktas pile woe on Marseille

Celtic suffered another European embarrassment as the Scottish champions were beaten 3-1 at home by Ferencvaros in the Europa League. Just weeks on from crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers to the Austrian side Lask, despite at one point holding a four-goal lead, Celtic’s defensive flaws were exposed once more.

Martin O’Neill’s team also suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat by their rivals Rangers in the League Cup last weekend and failed to deliver on their manager’s promise to respond, with a home league derby against the Gers looming. Bamidele Yusuf opened the scoring for the visitors before Mika Baur equalised late in the first half. However, Kristoffer Zachariassen quickly put Ferencvaros back in front before Daniel Arzani’s sensational strike, on his return to Celtic Park, capped a fine night for Ferencvaros.

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© Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA

© Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA

© Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA

The first goal that AFC Bournemouth ever scored in Europe could be heard out on the Bay of Biscay. A tradition from Real Sociedad’s old Atotxa ground, once lost but now recovered at Anoeta, dictates that a single flare is set off every time the visitors score while two are lit when the home team do; that way those out to sea know the score. And so it was that at 21.41 on a Thursday night in September 2026, Justin Kluivert found the net and a man named Juan Iturralde ran out into the street to let everyone know what had happened.

Back in Dorset and high in Anoeta, where 2,000 Bournemouth fans sang their way through this most special of occasions, they knew. They had waited their whole lives for this and it was a nice way to mark the history they made, their arrival announced to Europe with fireworks and a 2-1 victory in San Sebastián, the city where it all began for Andoni Iraola, the manager who brought them here.

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© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

It was worth the wait for Crystal Palace. After being denied their rightful place in the Europa League last season, Pierre Sage’s side made the perfect debut by brushing aside Lech Poznan with a victory that will take some of the heat off their new manager.

The Frenchman has big shoes to fill in replacing Oliver Glasner after his predecessor won three trophies in the space of 12 months and there had been some talk of disquiet behind the scenes following his decision to drop the teenager Jaydee Canvot at the weekend. But while Palace face a testing trip to face in-form Leeds on Sunday, having conceded 11 goals from their opening four Premier League matches, they were given a big helping hand by their opponents here well before Radoslaw Murawski was sent off late on for a reckless foul on Canvot.

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© Photograph: David Cliff/EPA

© Photograph: David Cliff/EPA

© Photograph: David Cliff/EPA

A good night for Bournemouth and Palace but a miserable one for Celtic

TNT’s Connie McLaughlin asks Celtic boss Martin O’Neill to “talk to us about the thinking behind” replacing goalkeeper Sam Johnstone with Viljami Sinisalo … and receives an unnecessarily abrupt and cranky response. “No I’ll not talk to you about the thinking behind that … he was always going to play … believe it or not, Connie, my job is not actually to explain every single situation to you … do you know what I’ll do? … I’ll tell the fans … through my Celtic TV.”

Would he like to talk about the other three changes? “No, absolutely not … I don’t want to be ruinous here of this situation … start again, and tell me all about it … give me the rest of the changes … [McLaughlin tells him] … I’m delighted you’re taking about James Forrest … he’s been a fantastic player … getting on a little bit … he’s been a fantastic impact sub … let’s see what he can do … can he last the game? … I doubt it very much … thank you.”

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© Photograph: David Ramos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Ramos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Ramos/UEFA/Getty Images

Club legend Steve Fletcher reflects on the wild rise over two decades to playing Real Sociedad in the Europa League

It is 13 years since Bournemouth, a couple of months after finishing runners-up to Doncaster in the third tier, hosted Real Madrid. It was a balmy summer’s day, officially Carlo Ancelotti’s first match in charge, and, a few hours after checking into the Haven hotel on the Sandbanks peninsula, a wave of galácticos took to the pitch: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Kaká, Karim Benzema, the list goes on.

An early, wayward Ronaldo free-kick broke the wrist of an 11-year‑old boy before Madrid ran out 6-0 winners in a bucket-list friendly.

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© Photograph: Javi Colmenero/EPA

© Photograph: Javi Colmenero/EPA

© Photograph: Javi Colmenero/EPA

Granit Xhaka, Sunderland’s captain, believes it is not unrealistic to dream about Régis Le Bris’s side travelling all the way to the Europa League final next spring.

It is rarely a good idea to dismiss Xhaka but reaching that showpiece in Frankfurt will necessitate considerably more efficient finishing on his team’s part than proved evident on a highly evocative night on Wearside.

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© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

⚽ Live updates from the 8pm BST kick-offs
⚽ Xhaka promises ‘fire’ | Live scoreboard
⚽ Get in touch! Email Niall with any thoughts

Four changes from Sunderland’s narrow defeat to Arsenal at the weekend: Ballard, Brobbey, Angulo and Meunier drop to the bench, with Alderete, Hume, Isidor and Fofana coming in.

Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Roefs; Mukiele, Danso, Alderete, Mandava; Xhaka (c), Sadiki; Hume, Le Fée, Fofana; Isidor.
Subs: Moore, Ballard, Methalie, Brobbey, Angulo, Rigg, Meunier, O’Nien, Ahoka, Jones, Tutierov, Proctor.

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© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

Captain looking forward to intimidating atmosphere when Wearsiders host AZ, after 53 years away

When Sunderland last played European football, club directors viewed it as a useful means of raising the cash necessary to fund floodlight upgrades at Roker Park necessitated by England’s widespread adoption of colour television.

Back in the autumn of 1973 a lighting system compatible with the demands of broadcasting in black and white was proving increasingly outdated and Sunderland responded by doubling admission prices for the second leg of their opening European Cup Winners’ Cup tie against Vasas of Budapest. Coming at a moment when miners and railway workers were engaged in long-running industrial action and north-easterners’ finances were duly tight, it dictated that a disappointing crowd of under 23,000 turned out to watch Dennis Tueart’s penalty secure a 3-0 aggregate win.

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© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

• Celtic will host Marseille and travel to Benfica

• Brighton and Hearts play Monaco in Conference League

Bournemouth and Sunderland will play mouthwatering ties against Milan in their Europa League campaigns, while the Crystal Palace head coach, Pierre Sage, faces a return to his previous employers Lyon.

The Cherries’ first season in Europe will bring Milan, the seven-times continental champions, to Dean Court in a match-up that once seemed unthinkable. In 2006-07, when Milan won their most recent Champions League title, Bournemouth finished 19th in League One. Sunderland will make the trip to San Siro to face Ruben Amorim’s side during their first season in Europe since 1973-74.

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© Photograph: Valéry Hache/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Valéry Hache/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Valéry Hache/AFP/Getty Images

• 10-man Rangers hang on for 1-0 win against Jablonec

• Tromsø 0-0 Brighton; Hearts 2-2 Rapid Vienna

Ryan Naderi’s second-half strike gave an unconvincing Rangers a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg of their Conference League playoff tie against Czech side Jablonec at Ibrox. Derek McInnes got his first win as Rangers manager at the fifth time of asking with a 5-1 thumping of St Mirren on Sunday but there was regression in the goalless first half which brought boos at the interval whistle.

The Govan side pepped up after the break and Naderi opened the scoring from close range in the 50th minute but in the 78th minute the substitute Cammy Devlin was sent off – minutes after coming off the bench – for a high tackle on Jiri Slama to leave Rangers to see out the game with 10 men.

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© Photograph: Luke Nickerson/Rangers FC/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Luke Nickerson/Rangers FC/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Luke Nickerson/Rangers FC/Shutterstock

• Rangers 1-1 Jagiellonia Bialystok (2-3 agg)

• Spirited Hearts hold Benfica but also out of competition

Derek McInnes’s fledgling tenure as Rangers manager is in disarray after his side exited the Europa League qualifiers with a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok after drawing 1-1 at Ibrox.

Rangers had lost 2-1 in the first leg in Poland last week but there was optimism when the captain, Lawrence Shankland, levelled the tie on aggregate with a penalty on 19 minutes.

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© Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

• Heavy fog had meant planes unable to land in Faroes

• Thursday’s match was subsequently postponed to Friday

Poland’s champions Lech Poznan will play their Europa League second leg against the Faroese champions KÍ Klaksvík, originally scheduled for Thursday, a day later after their travel to the Faroe Islands was severely disrupted by heavy fog.

Lech won 1-0 in the first leg in Poznan thanks to a late goal from Ivorian striker Yannick Agnero, but on Thursday they were locked in a chaotic race against time to reach the islands for kick-off.

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© Photograph: Jakub Kaczmarczyk/EPA

© Photograph: Jakub Kaczmarczyk/EPA

© Photograph: Jakub Kaczmarczyk/EPA