Highlights: Ten-Man Tottenham Dominate in Europa League Opener

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their Europa League journey with a decisive 3-0 victory over Qarabag, overcoming the early red card of Radu Dragusin to secure the win. Despite being a man down for the majority of the match, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr, and Dominic Solanke ensured a smooth start to the campaign at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, concerns arose when Son Heung-min had to leave the pitch in the 70th minute due to fatigue, as stated by manager Ange Postecoglou, who had not yet had a chance to fully assess his condition.

The match was initially delayed by 37 minutes due to Qarabag’s late arrival caused by heavy traffic, a situation that visibly upset their manager Gurban Gurbanov. Despite the chaotic start and the disadvantage of playing with 10 men after Dragusin’s eighth-minute ejection for a foul, Tottenham displayed resilience. Johnson opened the scoring in the 12th minute, capitalizing on a defensive mistake from Qarabag. Sarr extended the lead with a volley in the 52nd minute, following a goalkeeper error from Qarabag’s Mateusz Kochalski. Although Qarabag had a chance to respond with a penalty shortly after, it was squandered by Toral Bayramov.

Solanke sealed the win with his second goal of the season in the 68th minute, adding to the frustrations of the visiting team, who lamented the lack of police escort and the rushed preparation time upon their arrival.

In other matches, Roma faced a setback with a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao at the Stadio Olimpico, conceding a late goal despite taking the lead through Artem Dovbyk’s header. This came amid fan unrest following the recent dismissal of manager Daniele De Rossi.

Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce narrowly defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1, with a late own goal ensuring the win after a stoppage-time consolation from Union. Ajax dominated Besiktas 4-0, Olympiakos fell 2-0 to Lyon, and Rangers secured a 2-0 victory at Malmo, highlighting a day of mixed results across European football.