Everton sank to a first Europa League defeat of the season with a 5-0 loss at Benfica on Thursday, while reigning champions Shakhtar Donetsk thrashed Toulouse and Roma rescued a draw at Fulham.
An injury-time goal earned 10-man Lazio a 2-1 win over Villarreal, Spanish heavyweights Valencia were held 1-1 at home to Slavia Prague and struggling Scottish giants Celtic went down 1-0 to Hamburg.
Everton were 1-0 behind at half-time at the Estadio da Luz after Javier Saviola volleyed the home side in front before three goals in seven minutes put the game beyond the visitors.
Paraguayan international Oscar Cardozo scored twice from close range after pin-point left-wing assists from Saviola and man-of-the-match Angel Di Maria, before Brazil center-back Luisao headed in the fourth.
Saviola touched home his second late on from another Di Maria assist as the hosts drew level with their opponents on six points at the Group I summit.
“I have said to the players that this is a different competition and we have had two wins and a defeat so it’s not that bad,” said Toffees coach David Moyes after his team’s worst ever defeat in European competition.
Premier League Fulham took an early lead against Roma opponents when Brede Hangeland headed home from a corner before Stephen Kelly was sent off after conceding a 78th-minute penalty for a foul on John Arne Riise.
The assistant official behind the goal mistakenly instructed the referee to dismiss Hangeland, but once the error had been rectified Mark Schwarzer preserved the home side’s lead by brilliantly repelling Jeremy Menez’s spotkick.
Fulham looked poised for a memorable victory but defender Marco Andreolli lashed in a half-volley off the underside of the crossbar with the last kick of the game to earn Claudio Ranieri’s men a point.
Argentine starlet Mauro Zarate gave Roma’s city rivals Lazio the lead in their Group G home game with Villarreal before Sebastian Eguren equalized five minutes before the break.
Midfielder Matuzalem was sent off for the hosts mid-way through the second period but they snatched victory in injury time through skipper Tommaso Rocchi.
Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg maintained control of the group by beating Levski Sofia 1-0, with a 20m drive by Dusan Svento securing their third consecutive victory.
Shakhtar, who won last season’s tournament when it was still known as the UEFA Cup, were 3-0 up at half-time against French side Toulouse and went on to win 4-0 as they maintained their perfect start in Group J.
“It was a very beautiful match that brought me a lot of joy and pride for my team and our fans,” Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said.
“Nine points from three matches is a very good result but we should be ready for a very tough return match in Toulouse,” he said.
Valencia fell behind to a 28th-minute strike from Slavia’s Macedonian striker Riste Naumov before drawing level in the second half through defender David Navarro.
That result allowed the French side to assume a two-point lead over the Spaniards in Group B after they belied indifferent domestic form to beat Italy’s Genoa 3-0.
Celtic were sunk by a 63rd-minute goal from Hamburg’s Swedish forward Marcus Berg and remain bottom of Group A, with Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv level on six points with Hamburg after stunning Rapid Vienna 5-1.
Dutch league leaders FC Twente went down 2-0 at Moldovan outsiders Sheriff Tiraspol, while there were also wins for Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Athletic Bilbao, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Sporting Lisbon and Panathinaikos.
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
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