Villa stunned, Braga keep on rolling
30 - Sporting Braga continued their perfect start to their 10th Europa League group phase appearance with a 2-0 defeat of Serbia's Crvena zvezda. A goal in either half helped the 2010/11 finalists close in a knockout round spot, something they have not achieved in their last two appearances at this stage. That victory was also their 30th in the UEL group stage/league phase all-time.
17 - Things continue to go from bad to worse for Rangers. In what was their first match under new boss Danny Rohl, the Scottish giants fell 3-0 in Norway versus Brann. That was the club's first-ever defeat against Norwegian opposition after going 3-1-0 before that. What is more troubling now for the Gers is the fact that they have lost their last six continental games, conceding 17 times in the process.
6 - Bologna got their maiden win in the UEL this term with a 2-1 success at FCSB. Jens Odgaard and Thijs Dalinga got the goals for the Serie A side to claim a solid result. It is more difficult for the Romanian champions, who have not had a great start to the campaign. The Rossoblu claimed their sixth away win in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, though this was the first time they did not keep a clean sheet in the process.
13 - Fenerbahce made it two successive wins after edging DFB Pokal holders Stuttgart 1-0. It took a first half penalty for the Turks to claim all three points in front of their home fans. Fener have not enjoyed previous meetings with German clubs, with this result being just their second such victory. The only other one came 13 years ago in the group stage against Borussia Monchengladbach.
28 - Ferencvaros have been making the most of their away trips in Europe so far. The Hungarian champions turned the match around just before the hour, scoring thrice in eight minutes, then holding on for a 3-2 win over RB Salzburg. Fradi have now won consecutive away matches in the UEL, something they had done in the same season only once before. That came 28 years ago in the first two qualifying rounds of the 1997/98 UEFA Cup.
18 - Go Ahead Eagles are once again the story of the matchday. The defending KNVB Beker champions stunned Aston Villa 2-1 at home. The more impressive part is the fact that they managed to overcome conceding just four minutes in. Yet, the Dutch outfit found their leveller just before the break, and their winner at the hour mark. Villa lost their fourth match at this stage in Europe under the league phase format, despite amassing 18 shots in the 90 minutes.
3 - Neither Genk nor Real Betis could break the other down in a scoreless encounter in Belgium. The hosts will certainly be the happier ones with the result, knowing the quality of their opponent. Betis are one of eight clubs to be unbeaten after three rounds in the UEL league phase. As for Genk, they have now kept a clean sheet at home for the third straight group phase match.
8 - Lyon are three for three in this season's Europa League following a 2-0 success against Basel. Corentin Tolisso and Afonso Moreira were the goalscorers for OL in the victory, taking them to nine points. While they are not yet in trouble, it is already two defeats for Basel, leaving them with less room for error. The Swiss side's reverse was their eighth against Ligue 1 opposition.
Plzen claim another victory, Forest off the mark
37 - Viktoria Plzen continue to show just how difficult they are to beat in the group phase play. The Czech outfit grinded out an impressive 2-1 road win at the expense of AS Roma. Both goals came about two minutes apart to help them climb to fifth in the league phase ranking. It is a shocking situation for Roma to lose two home games in the same UEL campaign. In fact, this is just the second time this has occurred, with the other occasion happening 37 years ago.
12 - Celta Vigo have piled the misery on OGC Nice even further. The Spanish side made the most of their opponent's self-capitulation, as Jonathan Clauss picked up two yellow cards in the space of nine minutes. That, coupled with an own goal from Les Aiglons 15 minutes from time, saw them fall 2-1 away. Nice are now 12 group phase games without a win, going 0-4-8 in that run.
7 - Celtic bounced back from their negative start to this term's league phase with a key 2-1 win over 10-man Sturm Graz at Parkhead. The game had a turn of events just after the 60-minute mark, as the Hoops scored both of their goals three minutes apart to complete the comeback. Sturm's disastrous away form continues - the Austrian champions are on a seven-game losing streak on their travels.
65 - Feyenoord also had to recover from an early setback in their clash. The 2001/02 UEFA Cup winners ran away with a 3-1 result over Panathinaikos in an even contest. For the second matchday in a row, the Greeks ended up losing a game in which they opened the scoring. For Feyenoord, they notched their 65th victory in the UEL, in both the previous and current guise combined.
4 - Freiburg march on at home, getting the better of Utrecht 2-0. The Germans found the back of the net twice in the opening 45 minutes in what turned out to be a tale of two halves. Utrecht came alive in the second half, but despite 10 shots, they could not turn things around. Not only are the Eredivisie outfit on no points after three games, but they are the only team of the 36 not to have scored so far. They also await their maiden group phase away win, as they are winless across four such games (0-2-2).
11 - PAOK clung onto a huge 4-3 away success at Lille in a match that had everything. A missed penalty, a disallowed goal, a red card, one could not ask for better. When the dust settled, the Greek side ended up on top. Lille will be left disappointed that they could not make it three wins in as many games. It was the 11th time that they scored at least three goals in a European home game, and the first time they lost in doing so.
5 - Perhaps it is fitting that FC Midtjylland sit top of the league phase after three rounds. After all, the Danes still have not lost in Europe this term. A 3-0 defeat of Maccabi Tel Aviv puts them on the cusp of playing knockout round football for the fourth time in five seasons. The side from Herning are enjoying their away matches quite a bit. They are on a five-game winning streak on the road, their best ever in Europe.
19 - Malmo were oh so close to three points at home versus Dinamo Zagreb. But, Cardoso Varela broke Swedish hearts in the 96th minute, cancelling out Oscar Lewicki's opener just before the half. The 1-1 draw left the hosts quite disappointed, despite picking up their first point. That late equaliser also meant that Malmo have conceded in their last 19 European matches, qualifiers excluded.
27 - Nottingham Forest pulled off a great result in Thursday's late action, converting a penalty in each half to hand Porto their first loss of the campaign. The Tricky Trees prevailed 2-0 at the City Ground, Sean Dyche's first match in charge immediately puts them on the right track. Porto's difficult record against English teams continued, with the loss being their 27th against teams from the Premier League.
34 - Young Boys were made to work for it, but held their nerve to top Ludogorets 3-2 at home. A Chris Bedia penalty 63 minutes in ultimately settled the score between the two sides, despite the Bulgarians scoring a consolation in stoppage time. The team from Bern, who have not made it past the UEL group phase since 2020/21, take one key step towards changing that. Ludogorets were defeated in Europa League play (qualifiers included) for the 34th time.