[UEL] MD2 Review

Lazio and Roma secured their first wins in the UEFA Europa League group stage, beating Bulgarian opponents comfortably but a spirited Genoa were edged out at Valencia.

Levski Sofia 0-4 Lazio
Lazio kick-started their Europa League campaign by inflicting Levski Sofia's heaviest home defeat in European competition. Francelino Matuzalem and Mauro Zarate made the most of Lazio's first-half dominance to send the visitors in two up and Mourad Meghni and Tommaso Rocchi added further goals to ensure their side recovered from their shock Matchday 1 home loss to Salzburg. Davide Ballardini's Lazio will now attempt to add to their three points in Group G with their double-header against struggling Spanish side Villarreal.

Roma 2-0 CSKA Sofia
Roma got off the mark in Group E at the second time of asking, defeating Bulgarian visitors CSKA Sofia with goals from youngster Stefano Okaka Chuka and Simone Perrotta. The victory was as comfortable as the 2-0 scoreline suggests, as the Giallorossi bounced back from a 2-0 Matchday 1 reverse at Basel. Okaka Chuka made the breakthrough after 20 minutes after he picked up a pass from Marco Motta, and there was no way back for the visitors once Perrotta had added a quick second. Claudio Ranieri's men now face back-to-back matches against English outfit Fulham.

Valencia 3-2 Genoa
Valencia needed the fight of their lives to subdue Genoa with the Serie A side leading and then equalising before substitute David Villa's late penalty won the game. Sergio Floccari gave Genoa the lead and Houssine Kharja struck a 64th-minute penalty to level after second-half strikes from David Silva and Nikola Zigic had put Valencia ahead, but the Spanish giants earned three points thanks to that Villa moment when, after being sent through by fellow substitute Joaquin, he forced Andrea Esposito to give away the crucial spot-kick. Gian Piero Gasperini's Genoa, who beat Slavia Prague 2-0 in the opening Group B game, will now be looking to bounce back with two meetings with French club Lille coming up next.

UEFA Europa League 2009-10
Group Stage, Matchday 2
Thursday 1 October
Anderlecht 1-1 Ajax
Timisoara 0-3 Dinamo Zagreb
Slavia Prague 1-5 Lille
Valencia 3-2 Genoa
Celtic 1-1 Rapid Vienna
Hamburg 4-2 Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Sporting Lisbon 1-0 Hertha Berlin
Ventspils 0-0 Heerenveen
Fulham 1-0 Basle
Roma 2-0 CSKA Sofia
Dinamo Bucharest 0-1 Panathinaikos
Galatasaray 1-1 Sturm Graz
Levski Sofia 0-4 Lazio
Salzburg 2-0 Villarreal
Sheriff 0-1 Fenerbahce
Twente 0-0 Steaua Bucharest
AEK Athens 1-0 Benfica
BATE Borisov 1-2 Everton
Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 Partizan Belgrade
Toulouse 2-2 Club Brugge
Copenhagen 1-0 Sparta Prague
PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Cluj
Austria Vienna 1-1 Nacional
Werder Bremen 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

Source: UEFA