Besiktas dominates in Istanbul, Bournemouth shines in Europa debut

Under the loud cheers of the Turkish fans, the stadium of Besiktas Istanbul filled the night as the team opened the season's first European cup appearance and beat Olympique Marseille with a clear 4-1. The early goal by Ilhan Fakili in the 15th minute set the tone for the dominating game.

Besiktas dominates at home

Besiktas Istanbul secured a strong opening result in the Europa League with a convincing home win. Ilhan Fakili opened the game in the 15th minute, but Keyliane Abdallah equalised for Marseille after about half an hour. The Turkish side then increased the lead through Vaclav Cerny (56') and Michael Murillo (59') and sealed the victory with Ernest Poku in the 81st minute for a final score of 4-1. On the pitch the hosts dominated the play from start to finish.

In Olympique Marseille's starting eleven was the Swiss Ulisses Garcia, who was substituted already between the second and third minute. Despite this early change, Marseille could not turn the game around, and the team had to accept the defeat.

Bournemouth celebrates a convincing Europa debut

Bournemouth won its first match on the European stage against Real Sociedad 2-1, marking a successful debut in the Europa League. Justin Kluivert put the English side ahead already after eleven minutes, while Rayan doubled the score just nine minutes later. Real Sociedad responded in the 58th minute through Sergio Gomez, but the result remained unchanged.

The Conference League winners Crystal Palace continued their winning run by beating Lech Poznan convincingly 3-0. Yeremi Pino opened the scoring in the tenth minute, followed by Chris Richards in the 27th and Jörgen Strand Larsen shortly before halftime. Eddie Nketiah completed the final four-goal tally shortly before the end.

Salzburg also began their Europa League campaign with a narrow win, with Dominik Schmid active in the left‑back position. Schmid provided the assist for Haris Tabakovic, who scored the 1-0 and thus secured the victory.

The results show that several clubs from different leagues are starting this year's Europa League strongly. Consequently, the upcoming group stage is expected to be characterised by intense duels.