Unai Emery’s Arsenal extended their winning streak to eight, in all competitions as they brushed side Qarabag FC 3-0 in their Europa League match in Baku on Thursday.
Arsenal didn’t miss the services of Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who wasn’t cleared to travel to Azerbaijan due to political problems between the two countries.
The Gunners found three new goal-scorers for them in the game with centre-back Sokratis Papasthopoulos scoring from a header by Nacho Monreal as early as in the fourth minute.
Having walked into the break with a one-goal lead, Arsenal academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe also got off the mark for the senior team as he slotted in one through an assist by Alex Iwobi in the 53rd minute. Youngster Matteo Guendouzi also scored his maiden goal-Arsenal’s third in the match through a calm finish as the London club cruised to the top of Group E with six points.
“It was a difficult game. Every match is important for us. We played an away game against a strong opponent,” Arsenal manager Unai Emery said, as quoted by AFP.
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He added, “Qarabag is an ambitious team and we had to try a lot today. However, in the end, the desired result was achieved.”
Red Bull Salzburg clinched a 3-1 stunning win over Celtic. Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring for Celtic in the second minute but a brace by Moanes Dabour and Japanese Takumi Minamino’s strike in the 61st minute gave the Austrian club their second win in Group B.
The story was the same for the AC Milan-Olympiakos clash at the San Siro stadium where the Greek side took an early lead only to be downed 1-3 by the hosts, who rode on a brace by Patrick Cutrone and Gonzalo Higuain.
The same scoreline interestingly was the full-time score of the Rangers vs Rapid Vienna clash. Marseille, who ended as the runners-up last season blew a lead of two goals, conceding as many to end with a 2-2 draw against Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.
Sevilla meanwhile faced a shock 1-2 defeat at the hands of Tornike Okriashvili in Krasnodar. In an away fixture, Lazio, reduced to nine men succumbed to a 1-4 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Spanish midfielder netted his first goal after returning from injury as his penalty in the 96th minute helped his team settle for a 3-3 draw against Spartak Moscow.
Image credit- Arsenal.com