Aston Villa had little trouble securing a 2-0 home win against Maccabi Tel-Aviv thanks to goals from Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen, while Nottingham Forest were held to a 0-0 draw at Sturm Graz, where Morgan Gibbs-White saw a first-half penalty saved.
Maatsen gave Villa the lead in first-half stoppage time, steering the ball in from a tight angle. Malen then sealed the result from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark after Elad Madmon had fouled Ezri Konsa.
Many pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside Villa Park before the match. Local police made six arrests.
In Austria, Sturm’s Maurice Malone briefly lifted the home crowd just before the half-hour mark when he found the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Forest had the chance to break the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute after Emanuel Aiwu handled a cross in the box, but Gibbs-White’s effort was saved as Sturm goalkeeper Oliver Christensen went the right way.
The second half produced little in the way of chances, and the score remained unchanged at the final whistle.
UNSTOPPABLE DANES
In Denmark, Celtic suffered a humbling 3-1 defeat by Midtjylland, who struck three times in the space of eight first-half minutes to take control of the match.
Celtic scored a consolation when Reo Hatate converted from the penalty spot in the 81st minute.
The Danish side have four wins from four in the Europa League and top the standings on 12 points. Celtic have four points and are outside the playoff places.
Nice took the lead at home against Freiburg through Kevin Carlos in the 25th minute. However, Johan Manzambi equalised four minutes later, before Vincenzo Grifo, from the penalty spot, and Derry Scherhant secured a comfortable 3-1 victory for the German side.
Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic was the hero for Red Star Belgrade, securing a 1-0 home win over Lille from the penalty spot five minutes from time after Berke Ozer had fouled Mirko Ivanic.
Real Betis controlled the match at home against Olympique Lyonnais and secured a 2-0 victory with first-half goals from Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony.
Rangers’ difficult campaign continued with a 2-0 defeat at home by AS Roma, who struck in the first half through Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini. The Scottish side and Nice are the only teams yet to register a point after four rounds.
Despite being reduced to 10 men after Charalampos Lykogiannis was sent off in the 23rd minute, Bologna drew 0-0 at home to Norwegian side SK Brann.
(REUTERS)