European football: TNS battle before Fiorentina defeat, Hearts snatch late win

  • Welsh side hold out for 65 minutes before losing 2-0
  • Hearts stun Dinamo Minsk | Larne lose in Molde

The New Saints put up impressive resistance before falling to a 2-0 defeat against Fiorentina on a historic night in Italy. TNS are the first Welsh league club to progress past the qualifying rounds of a Uefa competition, and their first Conference League group match threw up a daunting trip to Florence.

Fiorentina were runners-up for the past two seasons but it took them 65 minutes to find a way through the TNS defence, with Yacine Adli netting before a quick second from the former Everton striker Moise Kean.

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Sarr and Johnson score as young Spurs side beat Ferencvaros in Europa League

Ange Postecoglou saluted his four teenage starters after they helped Tottenham to a hard-fought victory at Ferencvaros in the Europa League, but is not ready to dub them “Ange’s Angels” yet.

Four players aged 19 or under were named in the Spurs lineup in Budapest, with full debuts handed to the academy graduates Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear, but the duo brushed off their inexperience to combine to set up Pape Sarr’s opener.

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Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Europa League – as it happened

A youthful Tottenham team survived an early scare to prevail in Budapest

3 min: Porro’s first act is to miscontrol in his own area. Then he concedes the first corner of the evening. Abu Fani sends the set piece to the near post, where Bissouma clears. A slightly nervous start by the visitors.

2 min: Gray is playing at centre back this evening, incidentally. Porro at right back.

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Europa League roundup: Athletic Bilbao condemn fans’ behaviour at Roma

  • Mika Godts double gives Ajax emphatic win over Besiktas
  • Lyon claim win; Viktoria Plzen hold Eintracht Frankfurt

Athletic Bilbao have condemned the behaviour of some of their fans after flares were thrown during their 1-1 Europa League draw with Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Fans in the away stand lit several flares during the match, with some being thrown in the direction of the pitch as well as into sections of the stadium containing home supporters. After the draw, in which Aitor Paredes’s late equaliser cancelled out Artem Dovbyk’s opener, Athletic’s captain Oscar de Marcos and forward Iñaki Williams could be seen remonstrating with their fans.

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Rangers beat Malmö with goals from Bajrami and McCausland in each half

Rangers made a storming start to their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmö in Sweden that should have been even more emphatic. Nedim Bajrami scored his first goal for the Ibrox club in less than a minute and Philippe Clement’s side passed up several chances to add a second before the interval.

The Swedish champions, who had not lost to Rangers in four previous meetings in Champions League qualifiers, piled pressure on after the break but still Rangers missed chances to add to their lead before the substitute Ross McCausland fired in a superb second in the 76th minute to seal the win. It was the biggest test for Rangers since they lost 3-0 to Celtic at the start of the month, and they came through with flying colours.

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Football Daily | José Mourinho is definitely not running scared or in one of his sulks

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Football Daily didn’t get where it is today by abdicating its responsibilities. If we say we’ll slither apologetically into your inbox or spam folder five days a week (Bank Holidays excluded), then that’s what we’ll do, even though there’s a good chance nobody would notice or even care if we skipped the odd appointment. It seems the same can’t be said for José Mourinho, who has been fined for failing to materialise at his post-match press conference in the wake of Fenerbahce’s defeat at the hands of Galatasaray in last Saturday’s Intercontinental Derby, an absence he was only happy to explain yesterday.

We are delighted to be heading to Melbourne for a post-season fixture against Newcastle United. Being able to take our team overseas is always a huge honour. We have amazing global support and to have the opportunity to connect with those fans who may be based thousands of miles away but are fanatical about the club is truly special.

I’ve spoken already about the fact that I think we’re getting to a real dangerous level with what our expectations are around players. Instead of focusing on one or two tournaments, it’s about the calendar, that’s more of an issue. Players don’t get a break between seasons any more like they used to, there are more tournaments both at international and club level, continental level. It’s going to get to a point where we’re not going to have the best players out there playing and probably even worse is them breaking down for various reasons. It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Ten Hag laments Manchester United’s ‘complacent’ approach in Twente draw

  • United concede equaliser after defensive mix-up
  • Christian Eriksen suggests Dutch side ‘wanted it more’

Erik ten Hag criticised Manchester United for not “fighting for every yard” unlike Twente, who played “the game of their life” in the 1-1 Europa League draw at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

United led through Christian Eriksen’s first-half strike and appeared in control at the break. But on 68 minutes Bart van Rooij was able to run from deep inside Twente territory, passing Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martínez and Harry Maguire. When Manuel Ugarte tackled the defender, the ball went to Eriksen but the Dane dawdled and Sam Lammers took the ball, dashed forward and equalised.

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Europa League: Porto lose to 10-man Bodø/Glimt as Lazio beat Dynamo Kyiv

  • Nice draw 1-1 at home against Real Sociedad
  • Galatasaray defeat PAOK 3-1 in Istanbul

Porto endured a 3-2 defeat away against a Bodø/Glimt outfit who played with 10 men for most of the second half. The Norwegian side fought back after Samu Omorodion’s early opener to lead via goals from Kasper Høgh and Jens Hauge.

Bodø/Glimt had Isak Dybvik Määttä sent off in the 51st minute, but Hauge added another just past the hour, and although Porto pulled a goal back late on through Deniz Gül they could not salvage anything.

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Manchester United reined in by Twente as Eriksen goes from hero to villain

When Manchester United click as they did here for large periods, their attack features organised chaos and their defence is compact, as their four clean sheets this season show. This last statistic was heading for a fifth until a hapless Christian Eriksen turned from scoring hero to culprit with a dither that allowed Sam Lammers to equalise on 68 minutes.

Chasing victory, Erik ten Hag replaced the restored Marcus Rashford with Rasmus Højlund, Joshua Zirkee with Mason Mount, and Eriksen with Kobbie Mainoo. But this last-dice throw failed despite an added-time scramble that had Harry Maguire heading goalwards so United’s Europa League challenge starts with a point.

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Manchester United 1-1 FC Twente: Europa League – as it happened

Christian Eriksen scored a belter and was robbed for Twente’s equaliser as Man Utd endured another frustrating night

The players are about to walk into the moist Manchester night. As they do so, here’s a reminder of the teams.

Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Eriksen; Amad, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Heaton, De Ligt, Mount, Hojlund, Garnacho, Casemiro, Antony, Evans, Mainoo, Collyer.

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Erik ten Hag wants more killer instinct from Manchester United forwards

  • United prepare for Europa League opener against Twente
  • Luke Shaw could return before international break

Erik ten Hag has admitted ­Manchester United need to “kill in the box” after scoring only five goals in the Premier League this season, leaving them with a goal difference of zero.

Last season, United managed 57 goals in the competition, conceding 58. On Saturday, they failed to score again, drawing 0-0 at Crystal Palace despite dominating possession (66% to 34%) and producing 15 shots on goal, six of which were on target.

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