Leagues ·
UEFA Europa League Roundup: Benfica Stun AC Milan at San Siro, Leverkusen Win, Juventus Prepare for Opener
Benfica defeated AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro while Bayer Leverkusen secured a 2-0 win over NK Celje in their UEFA Europa League openers. Meanwhile, Juventus get ready to host NEC Nijmegen.
The UEFA Europa League league phase kicked off with standout encounters across the continent. At San Siro, Benfica earned a impressive 2-0 away victory against AC Milan in Matchday 1. Dodi Lukébakio put the Portuguese side ahead in the 16th minute with a fine strike into the back of the net. In the second half, Jakub Kamiński doubled Benfica's advantage with a powerful first-time shot into the roof of the net to seal the three points. Ahead of the fixture, AC Milan manager Rúben Amorim had emphasized the importance of the clash, stating: "It's an important occasion and we can'wait to begin our European campaign."
Over at the BayArena, Bayer Leverkusen also initiated their UEFA Europa League campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Slovenian club NK Celje. The German side took the lead early in the 15th minute through an own goal scored by Celje's Svit Sešlar. Facundo Medina capped off the victory in the 74th minute, volleying home a cross delivered from an Aleix García corner kick. NK Celje goalkeeper Žan-Luk Leban delivered a strong performance despite the defeat, making seven saves throughout the match to keep his team competitive until Medina's second-half strike.
Looking ahead to Thursday, September 17, 2026, Juventus are set to host Dutch side NEC Nijmegen at the Allianz Stadium in Turin to kick off their UEFA Europa League journey. Scheduled to start at 21:00 CEST (19:00 UTC), the Italian giants enter the contest seeking to recover from a 3-2 domestic league loss against Sassuolo last weekend. This fixture represents the very first official competitive meeting between Juventus and NEC Nijmegen in European competition history.
Sources: https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQF8PBJ458uJ8EcGZyRqun49YarJFP6cgmrXd5ZS7zqdIY2lNNU2_VU7juvjZDiBmHdc_x3Tq-E02GfGOYIDPyhskTJnPLp-4BRpPsGoAHn5mWg3Knx2DwyLLoP_kWCIAYxXYBpNuL5s1t3-P5bxBwo= · https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQE5IOh7I2b3bjs9RzYJlrvSWzl4Lrt-rWU_6dCJzrMHsTMAbn0hxYeIFFIsXuH4pDcZ6yw_3YYJahlsug337vcjR26bhrMgm2Jh_9RpStcRQ7nL4iHy9CDFp2upJ7jbZ8_2vLBrxFFXifMae-Ljt1sWNbXz6gferjjZ_rUcaLAew0M3p-AlOAGxelSqcmEDTQCgzXr4Ri_6h7_lUkBG4vnZ5CpL3soTTQp0f4fjHGi9LELHpTlYyWAgAxCX7Apol0OZ4UA5wFzQdQZPktXYq2kO-AU=
Europa League · Benfica · AC Milan · Leverkusen · Juventus
Competition: UEFA Europa League