Juventus 5-0 NEC Nijmegen; Besiktas beat Marseille 4-1 in Europa League

Juventus opened their 2026/27 UEFA Europa League campaign with a dominant 5-0 win over NEC Nijmegen at the Allianz Stadium, while Besiktas thumped Olympique de Marseille 4-1 in Istanbul on Thursday.

Big victories set the tone on Matchday 1

Juventus struck early when Nico González stole in to capitalise on a goalkeeper error and put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute. Kerim Alajbegovic added a long-range second in the 24th minute, and Nick Woltemade converted a penalty before the break to make it 3-0. The Bianconeri controlled the second half and completed the rout with a Zeki Çelik strike in the 75th minute and a Randal Kolo Muani goal in the 82nd to finish 5-0. ([juventus.com](https://www.juventus.com/en/news/articles/squad-list-juventus-nec-17-09-26?utm_source=openai))

In Istanbul, Besiktas took the lead through Ilhan Fakili after an Olaïtan assist in the 15th minute, but Marseille levelled when Kaeligian Abdala (Keïlian Abdala) equalised in the 29th. The Turkish side turned the game around after the interval: Václav Černý put Besiktas ahead in the 56th minute and Amir Murillo extended the lead three minutes later, with Ernest Poku adding the fourth to seal a 4-1 home victory. ([sport.sky.it](https://sport.sky.it/calcio/europa-league/partite/2026/giornata-1/besiktas-olympique-marsiglia/risultato-gol?utm_source=openai))

Other notable results from the opening league-phase fixtures included Ferencváros beating Celtic 3-1, Crystal Palace defeating Lech Poznań 4-0, and Union Saint-Gilloise winning 3-0 at Viktoria Plzeň; the first matchday produced several clear home and away victories across Europe. ([uefa.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/02a9-219ba00d8c3a-2fc9c36259e8-1000--europa-league-matchday-1-highlights-and-round-up-benfica-/?utm_source=openai))

The wins give Juventus and Besiktas ideal starts in their respective groups, underlining both clubs’ ambitions in the continental competition as the league phase gets under way.

Matchday 1 continues across the coming days with fixtures that will reshape the early standings; teams who struggled will be looking for quick responses when action resumes. ([uefa.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/02a9-219ba00d8c3a-2fc9c36259e8-1000--europa-league-matchday-1-highlights-and-round-up-benfica-/?utm_source=openai))

Photo: JuventusFC @juventusfc (X)