Europa League: Ferencvaros stun Milan as Bournemouth and Celtic win

The UEFA Europa League delivered another action-packed round on Thursday, with Ferencvaros producing one of the biggest results of the night by beating AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro. Bournemouth and Celtic also secured impressive victories, while Benfica maintained their perfect record in the league phase.

Ferencvaros continued their outstanding European campaign thanks to a brace from Lenny Joseph. The striker scored twice in the second half to hand the Hungarian side a memorable victory in Milan. Despite Bamidele Yusuf being sent off late in the game, the visitors held on to claim all three points. Milan, meanwhile, suffered their third defeat in four matches.

Bournemouth maintained their 100 per cent record with a 3-1 comeback victory away to Sparta Prague. Ebrima Singhateh gave the hosts the lead, but Tyler Adams equalised after the break before fellow substitutes Evanilson and Rayan completed the turnaround. The English side also benefited from Sparta being reduced to ten men before half-time.

Celtic produced another dramatic comeback, defeating Besiktas 3-2 in Glasgow to collect their first points of the competition. Junior Olaitan put the visitors ahead, but second-half substitutes Callum Osmand and Camilo Durán turned the game around. Orkun Kökçü appeared to have rescued a draw for Besiktas, only for Durán to score again late on and secure the win.

There was also disappointment for Crystal Palace, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim. The German side took an early lead through Alexander Prass, while Palace were reduced to ten men. However, Daichi Kamada struck in stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.

Juventus came from behind to beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1, with Teun Koopmeiners scoring against his former club before Randal Kolo Muani added a second. Marseille claimed their first win of the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, thanks to Amine Gouiri's goal in the 77th minute.

Benfica also kept their perfect record intact, beating Lech Poznan 3-1 in Lisbon. The Portuguese side remained level on points with Ferencvaros and Bournemouth, with the three clubs continuing to set the pace in the league phase.

Elsewhere, Levski Sofia edged Jagiellonia 1-0, while Dinamo Zagreb defeated Sunderland 2-0 to end the English side's unbeaten start. Anderlecht beat Salzburg 2-0, N.E.C. Nijmegen overcame Omonia 3-1 and Viktoria Plzen won 1-0 away to Lillestrom. Real Sociedad and Lyon shared the points in a 1-1 draw, while Union Saint-Gilloise beat Celta Vigo 2-1. Celje secured a 3-2 away win against Sturm Graz, OFI Crete defeated Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-0 and Torreense beat Ararat-Armenia 3-2.

The results kept the race for the knockout places wide open, with Benfica, Ferencvaros and Bournemouth among the teams making the strongest impression after four rounds.