The first leg of the Europa League play-off matches on Thursday witnessed Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 victory over Fenerbahce, and external victories for Bologna, Genk and Celta Vigo, while Lille fell at home and a heavy defeat for Celtic against Stuttgart.
Published on: 02/20/2026 - 00:14 Last updated: 02/20/2026 - 11:33
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On Thursday, England's Nottingham Forest achieved a major victory away from its home stadium over Turkey's Fenerbahce, 3-0, in Istanbul, in the first leg of the qualifying play-off to the 16-finals of the European Football League (European League).
Brazilian Murillo opened the scoring in the 21st minute, then his compatriot Igor Jesus added the second goal (43), before Morgan Gibbs-White deepened the lead early in the second half (50), putting Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira's team ahead in the next round before the return match at City Ground on February 26.
In other confrontations, Italian Bologna emerged victorious from its host, Norwegian Brann Bergen, with an early goal scored by Argentine Santiago Castro in the ninth minute.
Read also: Champions League: Inter falls in Norway, Atletico squanders its lead, and Newcastle sweeps Karabakh
Belgian Genk continued to shine away from home as well, defeating Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia 3-1, after an opening goal by Belgian Brian Henin (15), and widening the gap with a brace by Moroccan full-back Zakaria El Wahidi, who scored the second (21) and third (90) goals, while the homeowners’ only goal came from Croatian Dion Drina Bellio (44).
French Lille's mission in European competition was complicated after they lost at home to Serbian Red Star Belgrade, with a goal from Nigerian Fraklan Thibo Ochenna (45+1), so their series of negative results continued with a seventh defeat in 10 matches they played during the year 2026, and their position in the race to qualify for the 16th final was difficult.
In Glasgow, Northern Irish coach Martin O'Neill's 1,000th match with Scottish club Celtic witnessed a harsh loss to Stuttgart, Germany, 1-4, after grave errors by Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
France 24/AFP
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