Europa League: Aston Villa Cruise to Victory Over Maccabi as Forest Held to Draw by Sturm Graz
Aston Villa secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Europa League, with goals from Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest struggled to find the back of the net, settling for a 0-0 draw against Sturm Graz, where Morgan Gibbs-White had a first-half penalty saved.
Maatsen opened the scoring for Villa right before the break, deftly steering the ball in from a tight angle to give his team a crucial lead. Malen then extended that advantage with a penalty in the 59th minute, awarded after Elad Madmon fouled Ezri Konsa in the box.
Outside Villa Park, the atmosphere was charged as pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters gathered, leading to six arrests by local police before the match kicked off.
In Austria, Nottingham Forest faced Sturm Graz in a tightly contested match. Forest had an opportunity to take the lead in the 33rd minute when Emanuel Aiwu handled a cross in the penalty area. However, Gibbs-White’s spot-kick was saved by Sturm’s goalkeeper Oliver Christensen, who guessed correctly to keep the scoreline level.
The second half yielded few chances for either side, and the match ended in a stalemate, leaving Forest to ponder missed opportunities.
In other Europa League action, Celtic endured a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Midtjylland in Denmark. The Danish side took control early, scoring three times within eight first-half minutes. Celtic managed a consolation goal through Reo Hatate’s penalty in the 81st minute but remained outside the playoff spots with only four points from four games.
Nice initially led their home match against Freiburg with a goal from Kevin Carlos in the 25th minute, but the German side responded quickly. Johan Manzambi equalized four minutes later, and Vincenzo Grifo’s penalty, along with a goal from Derry Scherhant, sealed a 3-1 victory for Freiburg.
Red Star Belgrade’s Marko Arnautovic became the hero of the night, converting a late penalty to secure a 1-0 win over Lille after Berke Ozer fouled Mirko Ivanic in the box.
Real Betis also enjoyed a solid home victory, defeating Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 with first-half goals from Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony. However, Rangers’ struggles continued as they fell 2-0 at home to AS Roma, with Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini scoring for the visitors. Rangers, along with Nice, remain without a point after four rounds.
In an unusual turn of events, Bologna managed a 0-0 draw against Norwegian side SK Brann despite being reduced to 10 men after Charalampos Lykogiannis was sent off in the 23rd minute.
