Here is a stat for each of the 18 matches from this week.
Omonia earn shock win, Benfica impress
5 - Jure Balkovec's 88th-minute goal for Omonia Nicosia did the damage as the Cypriot champions picked up an unexpected 1-0 success over Celta Vigo. Despite having nearly double the shots as the hosts throughout the contest, Os Celestes could not find a breakthrough as they suffered an early reverse. After losing their first four clashes against Spanish opposition, Omonia come out on top at the fifth time of asking.
10 - Sparta Praha got the job done away to debutants Ararat-Armenia, as two goals in either half helped the Czech outfit to a 4-1 victory. As expected, Sparta had more of the chances in the clash, outshooting their opponents 23-13. Having now won their last four openers in group phase play, Zelezna Sparta have already taken a solid step towards progression. Across three head-to-heads, Sparta have scored 10 times against Ararat-Armenia.
15 - AZ Alkmaar's struggles with Premier League opposition continued on Wednesday night as they fell 1-0 on the road to Sunderland. Playing their first European match in over 50 years, the Black Cats got their winner from a second-half penalty to maintain their 100% winning record at home in continental action. As for AZ, their record versus English teams continue to worsen, with the loss being their 15th in such matches.
49 - Sturm Graz and Stade Rennais could not break the other down in their clash, producing one of two goalless draws in the round. Both had a goal called back in the opening half as the French club had more of the opportunities to break the deadlock. It is not a regular thing for Rennes to be involved in a European contest without goals. In fact, they had gone 49 games in Europe since their last 0-0 score. Before that, the last one came against Udinese in the 2011/12 Europa League at this stage.
6 - Olympiakos Piraeus needed to overcome a deficit in their clash against Jagiellonia Bialystok. Kajetan Szmyt had put the Poles ahead, only for them to be pegged back by half-time. Roman Yaremchuk's winner six minutes from time helped the hosts to a 2-1 victory. Jaga's away record in league phase play is not so great. They are now winless in their last six road matches in a group phase, with their only win coming against FC Kobenhavn in the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League.
14 - The other match to feature no goals came in Romania, where Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Dinamo Zagreb cancelled each other out over the course of the 90 minutes. The Israeli champions, playing their home matches on neutral ground, outshot Dinamo 15-7, but were unable to make the most of their chances. Be'er Sheva are no strangers to being involved in a goalless clash in Europe, with Wednesday's result being their 14th in UEFA club competition play.
7 - It was a statement victory for Benfica, who prevailed 2-0 at San Siro versus AC Milan. Goals on either half of the interval aided As Aguias to a monumental result over a team who have enjoyed much success over them. The Rossoneri had won two European Cup finals against the same opponent, with this clash being the first to occur outside of the Champions League. This was the first time Benfica defeated Milan in European club competition play, needing seven attempts to do so.
8 - Bayer Leverkusen, winners of the Europa League's predecessor - the UEFA Cup - in 1987/88, found their way past Slovenia's Celje 2-0 to open their seventh appearance in the UEL group phase with a success. An own goal 15 minutes in sent Die Werkself on their way. Facundo Medina added a second after the break to complete the win. Having scored in all six of their qualifiers this summer, Celje have been held off the scoresheet for the first time in eight games. AEK Athens were the last to do it in last spring's UECL round of 16.
4 - A pair of first-half goals did the job for Olympique Lyon, who edged Anderlecht 2-1 in Brussels. OL, who have finished in the top eight in each of the first two editions of the UEL's league phase, are 6-2-1 on the road in this current set-up. The number four is significant for two reasons here: Anderlecht are now without a win in their last four home games in the UEL proper (0-2-2), and Lyon now have four victories in the head-to-head (4-0-1).
OFI, Torreense already cause waves
33 - Greek Cup winners OFI Crete maintain their return to the European scene. In their first-ever group phase match, O Omilos pulled off a 2-0 victory against Bundesliga club Hoffenheim. The hosts scored in both halves to record their most significant win since the 1990s. None of Hoffenheim's 21 shots could find a way in as the club's disappointing group phase record continues. OFI have gone their first three continental matches this season without conceding; however, it is the first time in 33 years they have managed to keep successive clean sheets at home.
17 - RB Salzburg commenced their 10th appearance in the UEL proper with a 1-0 away win versus Levski Sofia. Haris Takabovic netted the only goal of the match six minutes before the break, which proved to be the winner. The Bulgarian champions failed to register an attempt on target in the game. They have now gone three matches without scoring in Europe, something that has not happened in the same season in 17 years. Ironically, that coincides with their last showing in the UEL group phase, where they finished bottom.
18 - An explosion of goals in the second half lifted Besiktas to a resounding 4-1 defeat of Olympique Marseille. Four different players got on the scoresheet for the hosts, who have defeated Ligue 1 opposition at this stage for the second year running. There were simply no answers from OM, who have now lost their last three European outings by a three-goal margin. Besiktas had 18 shots in the match as part of their win.
20 - Ferencvaros, who had a strong campaign in the competition last term, picked up from where they left off by handing Celtic a 3-1 home defeat. Nigerian winger Dele was involved in all three goals for Fradi, scoring the first before setting up the other two. It is far from an ideal start for Celtic, who suffered a disastrous collapse in their Champions League play-off tie last month. The Hoops have now conceded a total of 20 goals against teams from Hungary in 16 games.
9 - There was no messing about from Crystal Palace, who raced to a 3-0 lead against Lech Poznan before the first half was completed. The Eagles added a fourth near the end to come out on top 4-0 at Selhurst Park. The result was their largest margin of victory in a European game, having won 3-0 in the UECL twice en route to glory. Perhaps the even more impressive part for Palace is that they already have nine clean sheets in continental matches in 18 games.
22 - Ahead of the league phase, there was much talk about Portugal's Torreense. Currently plying their trade in the second division in their country, last season's Taca da Portugal winners held off Lillestrom to win 2-1 in Norway. Despite going down a man in the final minutes, SCUT did not panic, finding a way past their opponents for the positive result. Surprisingly, Torreense are not the only lower division team to win their opening group phase match. This also transpired 22 years ago, when Alemannia Aachen did the same in the UEFA Cup against Lille.
80 - What a performance from Juventus, who claimed the largest victory of the round. The Bianconeri topped NEC Nijmegen 5-0 at home as they were ruthless in front of goal. The Italian side, three-time UEFA Cup winners, had only 11 shots, yet they made half of them count as they maintain an impressive unbeaten run at home in the UEL. Juve have one of the best records in UEFA Cup/Europa League history, notching their 80th win in just 126 all-time matches.
11 - Enduring a difficult start to the season, Viktoria Plzen's struggles were on full display at home to Union Saint-Gilloise. The Belgian side created more than enough chances, coming away with a 3-0 victory. Plzen had not lost any of their UEL games last term, losing in the knockout round play-offs on penalties. With that in mind, the defeat ended a run of 11 games in the competition without a loss (3-8-0). Their last loss was also at home to Lazio in the round of 16 in 2024/25.
12 - Bournemouth's Europa League debut could not have gone any better. The Cherries scored twice in nine minutes during the first half, doing enough in the end to get past La Real 2-1. Sociedad have not had much success against teams from Europe's top five leagues historically. In fact, they are now 12 continental clashes without a win (0-6-6). Their last victory came against Manchester United in the 2022/23 competition.