Europa League matchday 4: Ferencváros win at Milan, Marseille end Leverkusen's run, three clubs on twelve points

Seventeen matches completed the Europa League's fourth round on Thursday night, and they produced 48 goals. Ferencváros won 2–0 at AC Milan with two goals from Lenny Joseph, Marseille took their first points with a 1–0 win at Bayer Leverkusen, who had won all three and not conceded, and Celtic beat Beşiktaş 3–2 for their first win. Benfica, Bournemouth and Ferencváros have now won all four. Away sides won nine of the seventeen, home sides six, and two were drawn; five players were sent off.

The early kick-offs

AC Milan 0–2 Ferencváros: Lenny Joseph scored on 52 and on 66, both from Kristoffer Zachariassen's passes. Bamidele Isa Yusuf was sent off for violent conduct on 77 after a VAR review upgraded his card. Milan had 70 per cent of the ball and fifteen shots, but two on target; Ferencváros put eight on target and Milan's goalkeeper made six saves. Milan have three points from four matches. Ferencváros's own site reports that more than 6,000 Hungarian supporters travelled to San Siro, and that Ádám Madarász hit the crossbar late on.

Anderlecht 2–0 Red Bull Salzburg: Ludwig Augustinsson scored on 20, a Leandro Morgalla goal for Red Bull Salzburg was cancelled by VAR on 76, and Marten Winkler made it two on 90 from Oliver Antman's pass. Anderlecht put seven of their twelve shots on target.

Crystal Palace 1–1 1899 Hoffenheim: Alexander Prass put Hoffenheim ahead on 7 from Tim Lemperle's pass. Adam Wharton was sent off on 77, for a second yellow card after catching Wouter Burger with his arm, Sky Sports reports, and the ten men of Crystal Palace equalised through Daichi Kamada on 90+1. Both sides had five shots on target. Sky Sports says the point gives Pierre Sage some respite after three Premier League defeats in a row.

Levski Sofia 1–0 Jagiellonia: Steven Stoyanchov scored the only goal on 83 from David Kusso's pass. Jagiellonia had two shots on target. Levski Sofia have seven points.

Lillestrøm 0–1 Plzeň: Prince Kwabena Adu scored on 10 from Patrik Hrošovský's pass. Plzeň put eleven of their seventeen shots on target and Lillestrøm's goalkeeper made nine saves. It is Plzeň's first win of the league phase, after three defeats; Lillestrøm have one point.

NEC Nijmegen 3–1 Omonia Nicosia: Loïs Diony gave Omonia the lead on 23 from Panagiotis Andreou's pass. Bryan Linssen equalised on 50 from Tjaronn Chery's pass, Clement Bischoff scored on 74, and Linssen added the third on 76 from Dušan Tadić's. NEC had 18 shots to six.

Real Sociedad 1–1 Lyon: Orri Steinn Óskarsson scored on 28 from Ander Barrenetxea's pass, and Corentin Tolisso equalised for Lyon on 54 from Tanner Tessmann's. Each side had four shots on target. Real Sociedad have five points.

Sparta Praha 1–3 Bournemouth: Lewis Cook hit the post with a penalty for Bournemouth on 30, and Ebrima Singhateh put Sparta Praha ahead on 35 from Jakub Surovčík's pass. Tobias Kvalvagnes Guddal was sent off two minutes later, on 37. Tyler Adams equalised on 57, Evanilson scored on 81 from Ryan Christie's pass, and Rayan made it three on 90 from Evanilson's. Bournemouth had 20 shots, nine on target, and ten corners. Sky Sports counts it as their seventh win in a row; Marco Rose called it "a big achievement and we have to continue".

The evening

AZ Alkmaar 1–2 Juventus: Teun Koopmeiners scored on 19 from Randal Kolo Muani's pass, and Kolo Muani scored on 37 from Nick Woltemade's. Mexx Meerdink replied for AZ on 88 from Elijah Dijkstra's pass. AZ had 18 shots to nine, but three on target. Juventus have ten points.

Bayer Leverkusen 0–1 Marseille: Amine Gouiri scored the only goal on 77. Leverkusen had 58 per cent of the ball and three shots on target; Marseille had two. It is Leverkusen's first defeat and the first goal they have conceded in this league phase.

Benfica 3–1 Lech Poznań: Rafa Silva scored on 6, Gianluca Prestianni on 67 from Heorhii Sudakov's pass, and Leo Bengtsson replied for Lech Poznań on 72. Sudakov made it three on 90 from Enzo Barrenechea's pass. Benfica had 24 shots and eleven on target, and Lech's goalkeeper made eight saves.

Celta Vigo 1–2 Union Saint-Gilloise: Pablo Durán put Celta Vigo ahead on 11 from Sergio Carreira's pass. Besfort Zeneli equalised on 35 from Adem Zorgane's pass and scored again on 49 from Kevin Rodríguez's, then missed a penalty on 80 that VAR had confirmed. Celta had eleven corners to one. Union have ten points.

Celtic 3–2 Beşiktaş: Junior Olaitan's penalty was saved by Sam Johnstone on 54 and he put Beşiktaş ahead from the rebound. Callum Osmand equalised on 62 from Callum McGregor's pass, and Camilo Durán scored on 78 from Osmand's. Orkun Kökçü levelled on 85 from Ernest Poku's pass, and Durán won it on 87. Beşiktaş had 61 per cent of the ball; Celtic had six shots on target to four. Osmand and Durán had come on just after the hour, and Sky Sports notes that defeat would have been a fifth European defeat in a row, for the first time in the club's history.

Hapoel Beer Sheva 0–2 OFI: Achilleas Poungouras scored on 45+2 and Taxiarchis Fountas on 56 from Nikolaos Athanasiou's pass; a third goal for OFI was cancelled by VAR on 90+2. Hapoel Beer Sheva, who played their home match in Bucharest, had 16 shots and four on target, and have one point.

Sturm Graz 2–3 Celje: Svit Sešlar scored for Celje on 29, Oumar Diakité equalised on 40, and Benjamin Verbič restored the lead on 45 from Milot Avdyli's pass. Sešlar scored again on 73, and Diakité's second, on 90+3 from Gizo Mamageishvili's pass, came too late. Sturm Graz had 29 shots and twelve corners; Celje had eight shots, seven on target. It is Celje's first win.

Sunderland 0–2 Dinamo Zagreb: Luka Stojković scored on 22 and set up Dion Drena Beljo on 39. A Wilson Isidor goal for Sunderland was cancelled by VAR on 47. Sunderland had 17 shots and seven on target, and Dinamo Zagreb's goalkeeper made seven saves. Sky Sports reports that Thomas Meunier and Kevin Danso both hit the woodwork, and Régis Le Bris said his side were "unlucky because we created many chances".

Torreense 3–2 Ararat-Armenia: Jorge Aguirre de Céspedes scored for Torreense on 13 from Javi Vázquez's pass and was sent off for serious foul play on 25 after a VAR review. Karen Muradyan equalised on 41 from Zhirayr Shaghoyan's pass and Bruno Wilson put Ararat-Armenia ahead on 58 from Artur Serobyan's. João Donna was sent off for Ararat on 76, and Torreense won it in stoppage time: Vázquez scored on 90+3 from David Bruno's pass and Musa Drammeh on 90+5.

The table after matchday 4

Every club has now played four times. Benfica, Bournemouth and Ferencváros have twelve points: Benfica lead on goal difference, +10, ahead of Bournemouth on +9 and Ferencváros on +8. Union Saint-Gilloise, Juventus and Olympiakos have ten, and Leverkusen nine. Six clubs have seven points, among them Beşiktaş, Sunderland and Dinamo Zagreb. At the bottom, Ararat-Armenia have lost all four and have no points; Lech Poznań, Lillestrøm and Hapoel Beer Sheva have one each. Marseille and Celtic, both pointless before Thursday, have three. After eight matches the top eight go to the round of 16 and ninth to 24th to the knockout play-offs.

Numbers to know

• 48 goals in seventeen matches, 2.8 a match.
• Five red cards: Aguirre's on 25, Kvalvagnes Guddal's on 37, Donna's on 76, and Isa Yusuf's and Wharton's on 77.
• Three penalties, none scored: Cook, Olaitan and Zeneli missed.
• Three goals were cancelled by VAR: Morgalla's, Isidor's and Androutsos's.
• Sturm Graz's 29 shots were the most of the night.
• Lenny Joseph, Bryan Linssen, Besfort Zeneli, Svit Sešlar, Oumar Diakité and Camilo Durán each scored twice.

Next up

Matchday 5 is on Thursday 26 November. At 17:45 UTC Olympiakos host AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb host Bayer Leverkusen, Celta Vigo host Bournemouth and Plzeň host Benfica, among eight matches; at 20:00 UTC Crystal Palace v Real Sociedad, Ferencváros v Celje, Juventus v Omonia and NEC v Rennes head the other ten. Every match is on the Europa League page.

Sources for the context: Ferencváros, Sky Sports (Celtic), Sky Sports (Bournemouth), Sky Sports (Crystal Palace), Sky Sports (Sunderland).