The group stage matches of the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League kicked off yesterday, delivering mostly expected outcomes, with the notable exception of Benfica securing a surprise away victory against Milan.
Another unexpected result came from Omonia, who managed to defeat Celta on home soil.
On September 16, 2026, the following fixtures took place:
Bayer edged past Celje 2-0, with an own goal by Seshlar in the 15th minute giving Bayer the lead, followed by a second goal from Medina F. in the 74th minute.
At the San Siro, Milan suffered a 0-2 defeat to Benfica. Lukebakio opened the scoring in the 16th minute, and Jakub Kaminski doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute. The match saw several bookings: Pavlovich S. received a yellow card in the 11th minute; El-Karouani was booked in the 26th; Duran in the 37th; Banjaki in the 77th; Barreiro L. in the 84th; and Pavlidis E. in stoppage time.
In Belgium, Anderlecht fell 1-2 to Lyon. Nartey gave Lyon an early lead in the 8th minute, followed by Nakamura’s goal in the 22nd. Tsvetkovich pulled one back for Anderlecht in the 61st minute. Yellow cards were shown to Nyahate at 26 minutes and Ouedraogo at 44 minutes.
Sunderland secured a narrow 1-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar thanks to a penalty converted by Le Fe in the 66th minute. Bookings included Hume at 22 minutes, Alderete at 30, Mukiele at 72 for Sunderland, and Ufkir at 38 and Patati at 64 for AZ.
In Greece, Olympiacos came from behind to beat Jagiellonia 2-1. Schmit gave Jagiellonia the lead in the 20th minute, but Gonzalez Ar. equalized for Olympiacos just before halftime in the 43rd minute. Yaremchuk scored the winner in the 84th minute. Onemaechi and Esse were booked for Olympiacos at 38 and 76 minutes, while Wojtuszek, Montoya G., and Vital B. received cautions for Jagiellonia.
Ararat-Armenia suffered a heavy 1-4 home defeat to Sparta Prague. Guddal scored twice for Sparta in the 20th and 22nd minutes, followed by Mercado’s goal in the 53rd. Wilson B. pulled one back for Ararat-Armenia in the 55th minute, but Vydra P. sealed the win for Sparta in the 71st. Serobyan, Grigoryan, and Muradyan K. were booked for Ararat-Armenia.
The match between Sturm and Rennes ended goalless, with Balbo and Stankovic J. receiving yellow cards in the 51st and 90th minutes respectively.
In a tight contest, Omonia defeated Celta 1-0, with Balkovets scoring the decisive goal in the 88th minute. Celta’s Svedberg was booked in the 68th minute.
Finally, the game between Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Dinamo Zagreb finished 0-0, with no goals or cards reported.
