[UEL] MD1 Review

Serie A leaders Genoa marked their return to European football with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League group stage, but both Roma and Lazio crashed to shock defeats on the opening night.

Genoa 2-0 Slavia Prague
Alberto Zapater scored the first goal of the UEFA Europa League group stage to set Genoa on course for a 2-0 victory against Slavia Prague. The Rossoblu have won all three of their Serie A outings this season and that perfect record rarely looked under threat at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris once Spanish midfielder Zapater had found the net with a delightful free-kick inside four minutes. Giuseppe Sculli doubled the lead with another neat finish shortly before the interval, condemning the Czech visitors to a sixth successive defeat on Italian soil. Gian Piero Gasperini's men, who are in Group B, travel to Valencia in a fortnight's time.

Basel 2-0 Roma
An early strike from Carlitos and a late breakaway by substitute Federico Almerares earned FC Basel an impressive victory against Roma in Group E. Carlitos fired the Swiss outfit ahead with a low drive after eleven minutes and, having survived a scare when Francesco Totti hit the crossbar for the Giallorossi, Basel settled matters late on when Almerares rounded Julio Sergio just two minutes after replacing Marco Streller. Claudio Ranieri's Roma will now be under pressure to beat CSKA Sofia in the Italian capital on Matchday 2.

Lazio 1-2 Salzburg
Late goals from Marc Janko and Franz Schiemer gave Salzburg a stunning victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in their opening Group G match. Substitute Pasquale Foggia had given Davide Ballardini's side the lead with a long-range strike on the hour-mark in a meeting of few clear-cut chances. Yet the Austrian side, playing their first competitive match in Rome, hit back on 82 minutes and then three minutes into added time as the hosts paid for their costly defensive errors. The Biancocelesti now face a crucial match against Levski Sofia in the next match.

UEFA Europa League 2009-10
Group Stage, Matchday 1
Thursday 17 September
Ajax 0-0 Timisoara
Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 Anderlecht
Lille 1-1 Valencia
Genoa 2-0 Slavia Prague
Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2-1 Celtic
Rapid Vienna 3-0 Hamburg
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Ventspils
Heerenveen 2-3 Sporting Lisbon
CSKA Sofia 1-1 Fulham
Basel 2-0 Roma
Panathinaikos 1-3 Galatasaray
Sturm Graz 0-1 Dinamo Bucharest
Lazio 1-2 Salzburg
Villarreal 1-0 Levski Sofia
Steaua Bucharest 0-0 Sheriff
Benfica 2-0 BATE Borisov
Everton 4-0 AEK Athens
Club Brugge 1-4 Shakhtar Donetsk
Partizan Belgrade 2-3 Toulouse
Sparta Prague 2-2 PSV Eindhoven
Cluj 2-0 Copenhagen
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Austria Vienna
Nacional 2-3 Werder Bremen
Fenerbahce 1-2 Twente

Source: UEFA