Villa, Roma, and Panathinaikos Shine as Europa League Matches Explode With Drama

Drama, goals and red cards dominated another chaotic night across the UEFA Europa League League Stage.

From Basel to Birmingham, the competition served up a blend of late winners, disciplined stalemates and statement performances as clubs edged closer to knockout qualification.

Swiss control, Spanish style and Scandinavian shocks

In Switzerland, Basel kept their Europa League campaign alive with a 3–1 victory over FCSB. Two penalties from Xherdan Shaqiri and a late strike from Ibrahim Salah sealed the points after the visitors were reduced to ten men when Ștefan Târnovanu saw red early on.

Elsewhere, Celta Vigo were ruthless in Croatia, dismantling Dinamo Zagreb 3–0 thanks to a brace from Pablo Durán and an unfortunate own goal from Sergi Domínguez. It was the perfect away performance for Rafael Benítez’s side, who controlled the game from start to finish.

In Sweden, Panathinaikos left it late but secured a vital win as Filip Đuričić struck in the 85th minute to down Malmö FF. Meanwhile, Danish outfit Midtjylland stunned Celtic, racing into a 3–0 half-time lead through Martin Erlić, Mads Krüger-Johnsen and Franculino Djú before a consolation from Reo Hatate.

Southern steel, British setbacks and German efficiency

There was no joy on the Riviera for Nice, who were outclassed 3–1 by Freiburg. Goals from Junior Manzambi, Vincenzo Grifo and Derry Scherhant overturned an early strike by Kevin Carlos, keeping the Bundesliga side on course for qualification.

In Austria, Red Bull Salzburg saw off a spirited Go Ahead Eagles side 2–0, with Yorbe Vertessen and Amar Dedić finding the net, while Red Star Belgrade edged Lille 1–0 in Serbia thanks to a late penalty from Marko Arnautović.

Aston Villa returned to winning ways at Villa Park, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0 under heavy security. Ian Maatsen’s close-range effort and a second-half penalty from Donyell Malen ensured a composed display for Unai Emery’s men.

Elsewhere, Ferencváros were too strong for Ludogorets Razgrad, with Cadu among the scorers in a 3–1 home victory, while PAOK hit four past Young Boys after an early red card, Giannis Konstantelias and Abdul Rahman Baba both on target.

Roma claimed a controlled 2–0 win at Ibrox over Rangers, first-half goals from Matías Soulé and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini silencing the Glasgow crowd. In Spain, Real Betis beat Olympique Lyonnais 2–0, with Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony on the scoresheet.

The night’s thriller came in Portugal, where Genk edged Sporting Braga 4–3. Rodrigo Zalazar hit two for the hosts, but efforts from Yira Sor, Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yira Medina sealed a remarkable away win.

In Germany, Stuttgart left it late to defeat Feyenoord 2–0 through Bilal El Khannouss and Deniz Undav, while Viktoria Plzeň and Fenerbahçe shared a goalless draw to round off a night of contrasts across the continent.