Europa League highlights and round-up: Ajax, Fenerbahçe, Rangers and ten-man Tottenham make winning starts

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their UEFA Europa League campaign in impressive fashion, surviving and thriving with ten men against Qarabağ. The English side's 3-0 victory margin was bettered only by Ajax on a night that also saw wins for Braga, Fenerbahçe, FCSB, Lyon and Rangers.

UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 1 action.

Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Qarabağ

The English side recorded a good win despite playing with ten men for 82 minutes after defender Radu Drăgușin was sent off in a game delayed by a late team arrival. Brennan Johnson put Spurs ahead with a calm, low finish and Pape Sarr volleyed in from a corner to make it two. Juninho hit a post and had a goal ruled out for offside and Tural Bayramov put a penalty over the bar before Dominic Solanke sealed the points.

Fenerbahçe 2-1 Union SG

José Mourinho's charges survived a frantic finish to edge a game both teams ended with ten men. Çağlar Söyüncü's strike and Christian Burgess' own goal, either side of Kevin Mac Allister's red card, put the hosts in control. Union SG's Franjo Ivanović was unable to beat home goalkeeper Dominik Livaković with a late spot kick after an incident that saw Bright Osayi-Samuel sent off, though substitute Ross Sykes did halve the deficit in added time.

Malmö 0-2 Rangers

Rangers scored during the opening 60 seconds in a dominant first-half display in Sweden, Nedim Bajrami slotting in after Cyriel Dessers' strike rattled the post. The home team rallied after the interval, Anders Christiansen shooting over before the Scottish side scored their second through substitute Ross McCausland's precise finish with 14 minutes remaining.

Best of the rest on Thursday

• Mika Godts, 19, struck twice as Ajax recorded the biggest win of Matchday 1, beating Beşiktaş 4-0; Kian Fitz-Jim (21) and Kenneth Taylor (22) were also on target.
• Eintracht Frankfurt's first Europa League outing since lifting the trophy in 2022 ended in disappointment as Viktoria Plzeň struck twice in the closing stages to draw 3-3.
• Braga left it even later at home to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, turning a 1-0 deficit with three minutes to go into a 2-1 win thanks to two goals from Bruma, the second a spot kick.

Manchester United 1-1 Twente

Sam Lammers' equaliser gave Twente a point as United's unhappy run of UEFA competition results was extended to one win in nine games (D3 L5). The hosts – managed by former Twente player Erik ten Hag – took a deserved lead when Christian Eriksen's first European strike for the club flashed into the net but good industry from Bart van Rooij paved the way for Lammers to equalise midway through the second half. Lars Unnerstall then made a fine save from Bruno Fernandes in added time to preserve the draw for the visitors.

Galatasaray 3-1 PAOK 

The Turkish champions overcame their Greek counterparts after a busy second half in Istanbul. Defender Abdul Rahman Baba deflected Victor Osimhen's header into his own net just after the restart to give the hosts the lead, but Giannis Konstantelias pounced on Günay Güvenç's clearance to equalise for PAOK. Yunus Akgün restored the home advantage, blasting Osimhen's header into the roof of the net, before substitute Mauro Icardi struck Galatasaray's third in added time.

Nice 1-1 Real Sociedad

Nice and Real Sociedad pushed each other hard till the final whistle, but neither could find a Matchday 1 winner. Ander Barrenetxea opened the scoring for the visitors when he lashed home from the edge of the box. The hosts drew level just before half-time when Dutch midfielder Pablo Rosario fired a low shot past Álex Remiro. After the break, Remiro guessed correctly to keep out Evann Guessand's penalty.

Best of the rest on Wednesday

• Porto's Samu scored the first goal of the new league phase eight minutes into his side's opener at Bodø/Glimt, but the Norwegian champions rallied to win 3-2 despite having a man sent off early in the second half.
• Bodø/Glimt's Jens Petter Hauge scored twice on opening night along with two others: Boulaye Dia in Lazio's 3-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv and Ruben van Bommel (son of Netherlands great Mark van Bommel) in AZ Alkmaar's 3-2 success against Elfsborg.
• Chilean winger Darío Osorio scored a beauty for Midtjylland, the 20-year-old making amends for being sent off at the weekend. However, he was upstaged by 18-year-old Hoffenheim substitute Max Moerstedt who claimed his first goal for the club with a tremendous volleyed equaliser.