Arsenal teenager Gabriel Martinelli on Thursday scored twice to spark a 4-0 rout of Royal Standard de Liege in the UEFA Europa League, while Manchester United stuttered to a goalless draw against Dutch side AZ.
Martinelli, 18, headed in superbly to give last year’s runners-up Arsenal the lead on 14 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, before adding a quick-fire second barely two minutes later.
The Brazilian was making just his second start for the Gunners since joining the club in July. He also struck twice on his full debut against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.
Photo: Reuters
Joe Willock fired in a third for a youthful Arsenal on 22 minutes and Martinelli set up Dani Ceballos on the hour to wrap up another comfortable win in Europe as Unai Emery’s side moved on to six points at the top of Group F.
“The team had a great performance. It’s a very important win for us,” Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin told BT Sport, praising the dedication shown by Martinelli. “He keeps his head down, he works really hard, he is doing what the coach wants him to do and it shows on the pitch.”
Arsenal are three points clear of both Standard Liege and Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Vitoria SC 1-0 in Portugal.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United again struggled in attack and failed to muster a single shot on target with the club still searching for a first away win since March.
“The conditions were tough, but I thought we did very well. It puts us in a good position,” Solskjaer said. “If you get your draws away from home and win the home games, you’ll be fine.”
The draw left United level on four points in Group L with Partizan Belgrade, who won 2-1 away to Astana.
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers conceded a stoppage-time goal in a 2-1 loss at Swiss side BSC Young Boys.
Colombian forward Alfredo Morelos put Rangers ahead just before halftime, but Young Boys leveled through Roger Assale and Christian Fassnacht grabbed a 93rd-minute winner.
Feyenoord claimed a 2-0 home victory over Porto in a clash of former European champions in the other match in Group G.
Celtic gained a degree of revenge on CFR Cluj, the Romanians who ousted them in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, as Odsonne Edouard and Mohamed Elyounoussi scored in a 2-0 win in Glasgow in Group E, while in Rome, SS Lazio defeated Stade Rennais 2-1.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, in their first European campaign since 1980, rebounded from an opening loss to SC Braga as Willy Boly’s stoppage-time goal earned them a 1-0 win at Besiktas JK.
Braga drew 2-2 with Slovan Bratislava in the other match in Group K.
RCD Espanyol forward Wu Lei became the first Chinese to score in a major European competition as his side beat CSKA Moscow 2-0 in Group H, while Ferencvarosi TC were beaten 3-0 at home by Ludogorets Razgrad.
Austrian debutants Wolfsberger AC drew 1-1 at home to AS Roma in Group J, while Istanbul Basaksehir held Borussia Moenchengladbach by the same scoreline.
Javier Hernandez grabbed the only goal as five-time champions Sevilla overcame APOEL of Cyprus in Group A, while Azerbaijani club Qarabag beat F91 Dudelange 4-1 in a game that was interrupted in the first half when a drone carrying a flag from the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh flew over the pitch in Luxembourg.
PSV Eindhoven defeated Rosenborg 4-1 on Group D, while Portugal’s Sporting defeated Austria’s LASK 2-1.
In Group B, Lugano were held goalless by Dynamo Kiev, while Malmo drew 1-1 with Copenhagen.
Getafe won 2-1 away at Krasnodar in Group C, while Trabzonspor and Basel drew 2-2.
In Group I, Oleksandriya drew 1-1 with KAA Gent and AS Saint-Etienne were held to the same score by VfL Wolfsburg.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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