Roundup of the knockout play-off action in 2025-26 UEFA Europa League.
Forest faced a tough tie against Turkey’s Fenerbahce following their third managerial change of the season which saw Viktor Pereira take charge, as the Tricky Trees sought to extend their European journey.
Celtic meanwhile faced Stuttgart in a tricky test as they battled to salvage another trophy from a difficult season, in a round which saw plenty of action.
Ludogorets Razgrad 2-3 Ferencvaros
Son fired Ludogorets Razgrad into a 2-1 aggregate lead with a home victory in the first leg, after Kwadwo Duah’s opener was cancelled out by Ferencvaros’ Bamidele Yusuf.
Gabi Kanichowsky and Kristoffer Zachariassen’s first-half goals saw Ferencvaros complete their deficit turnaround with a 2-0 second-leg win at home.
Panathinaikos 3-3 Viktoria Plzen (Panathinaikos win 4-3 on penalties)
Tomas Ladra rescued Viktoria Plzen a 2-2 draw away from home in the first leg after Andrews Tetteh’s brace had put Panathinaikos ahead from behind, following Denis Visinsky’s opener for the Czech visitors.
Tetteh then put Panathinaikos into a ninth-minute lead in the second leg but Karel Spacil salvaged a 1-1 draw at home for Viktoria Plzen, as the Czech hosts eventually lost 4-3 on penalties despite Panathinaikos’ Javi Hernandez having been red carded in extra time.
Dinamo Zagreb 4-6 Genk
Zakaria El Ouahdi’s brace plus Bryan Heynen’s opener saw Genk claim a 3-1 aggregate lead after the first leg, despite Dion Drena Beljo’s consolatory effort for Dinamo Zagreb.
Extra-time goals from Junya Ito and Daan Heymans saw Genk eventually progress on aggregate after a 3-3 draw at home in the second leg, having seen Yira Sor score their only goal in normal time as Monsef Bakrar’s opener and Luka Stojkovic’s brace saw Dinamo level the tie on aggregate.
PAOK 1-3 Celta Vigo
First-half goals from Iago Aspas and Williot Swedberg saw Celta Vigo clinch a 2-1 first-leg away win at PAOK, despite Alexander Jeremejeff’s consolatory goal having halved the hosts’ deficit in the second half.
Swedberg’s 63rd-minute finish proved enough for Celta Vigo to prevail on aggregate with a 1-0 second-leg win at home.
Celtic 2-4 Stuttgart
Ex Leicester attacking midfielder, Bilal El Khannouss’ first-half brace helped Stuttgart claimed a dominant 4-1 victory away at Celtic in the first leg, with Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomas also on the scoresheets for the visitors in the second half after Erik Nygren had briefly equalised for Celtic.
Luke McCowan’s strike after 28 seconds saw Celtic clinch a 1-0 second-leg victory but wasn’t enough to overturn their aggregate deficit.
Fenerbahce 2-4 Nottingham Forest
Murillo’s strike coupled with Igor Jesus’ header and Morgan Gibbs-White’s finish saw Forest cruise to a 3-0 first-leg away victory.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s 68th-minute strike eventually secured Forest’s passage despite a 2-1 second-leg loss at home, after Kerem Akturkoglu’s brace gave Fenerbahce hope of a dramatic comeback.
Brann 0-2 Bologna
Santiago Castro’s ninth-minute strike clinched a narrow 1-0 first-leg away victory for Bologna, before the Italian club secured their passage with a 1-0 second-leg win at home through Joao Mario’s 56th-minute finish.
Lille 2-1 Red Star Belgrade
Franklin Tebo Uchenna’s winner in the first minute of first-half injury time saw Red Star Belgrade claim a 1-0 first-leg victory at home.
Nathan Ngoy’s 99th-minute extra-time winner however saw Lille ultimately overturn their aggregate deficit with a 2-0 second-leg victory, after Olivier Giroud struck in the fourth minute to level the tie in Belgrade.
Leave a Reply