LONDON: Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo gave timely reminders of their value with both on target as Manchester United got their Europa League campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory at Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday.

Dutch club Feyenoord also registered their first points in emphatic fashion, crushing Sturm Graz 6-0 in Group ‘F’ where Lazio were hammered 5-1 away to Danish side Midtjylland.

Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma scored three times in the second half to beat 10-man HJK Helsinki 3-0 in Group ‘C’ — Andrea Belotti scoring his first Roma goal to seal the win.

Former Champions League regulars Olympiakos’ hopes of progressing from Group ‘G’ look slim, however, as they went down 3-0 at Bundesliga side Freiburg for whom Michael Gregoritsch grabbed a brace as they moved top.

United’s Premier League resurgence was interrupted by a lacklustre home defeat against Real Sociedad last week but they responded with a businesslike win in Chisinau where the match was played because of security concerns.

Sancho, surprisingly left out of England’s squad earlier on Thursday, slotted in United’s opener in the 17th minute after receiving a pass from Christian Eriksen.

Veteran Ronaldo, given a start by manager Erik ten Hag after being consigned to the bench in the opening weeks of the Premier League season, tucked away a 39th-minute penalty to claim his 699th club goal.

Sheriff, who downed Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in last season’s Champions League, offered an occasional threat but three-time European champions United were unruffled on their first ever trip to Moldova.

Sancho said it was “unfortunate” not to be selected for England’s Nations League games, but said: “I have to just keep focussing on myself and keep on working hard, week in and week out, that’s what I’ll do.”

United joined Sheriff on three points in Group ‘E’ with Real Sociedad topping the standings on six points after beating Omonia Nicosia 2-1. Ander Guevara gave the Spaniards the lead but substitute Bruno levelled before Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth struck the winner in the 80th minute.

Iranian forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored twice in Feyenoord’s romp against Sturm Graz to move top of their group on goal difference with each club having three points.

Lazio suffered a humiliating evening at Midtjylland for whom Paulinho opened the scoring and Sory Kaba, Evander, Gustav Isaksen and Erik Sviatchenko were all on target.

It could have been even worse for the Italians with Midtjylland also missing a penalty.

Roma suffered a shock 2-1 loss against Ludogorets in their Group ‘C’ opener, but they were always in control after HJK captain Miro Tenho was sent off in the 15th minute for a professional foul on Belotti.

Paulo Dybala took just 69 seconds to break the deadlock after coming on at half-time as he fired home from the edge of the area.

Lorenzo Pellegrini chested in the second goal after 49 minutes, with former Torino forward Belotti tapping home in the 68th minute.

Real Betis top the group with six points after a 3-2 win over Bulgarian side Ludogorets — a win notable for the fact that their second goal was scored by 41-year-old Spaniard Joaquin who becomes the oldest player to score in the Europa League.

In Group ‘H’, Ferencvaros moved top with six points thanks to a 1-0 home win over Monaco while former European champions Red Star Belgrade went down 2-1 at Trabzonspor and remain without a point after two games.

French club Rennes were denied their 100% record in Group ‘B’ after Turkish club Fenerbahce struck deep in stoppage time for a 2-2 draw having trailed 2-0. Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv prop up Group ‘B’ with no points after losing 1-0 to AEK Larnaca in a match played in Krakow because of the security situation in Kyiv.

In Group ‘D’ two teams have maximum points with Braga beating Union Berlin 1-0 as Vitor Oliveira’s 77th minute goal settled the tie and St Gilloise beating Malmo 3-2.

Norwegians Bodo Glimt beat Zurich 2-1 to lead Group ‘A’ with four points while Arsenal’s match against PSV Eindhoven was postponed because of arrangements for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

WEST HAM SURVIVE SCARE

In the third-tier Europa Conference League, West Ham United survived an early scare to win 3-2 at Danes Silkeborg and Villarreal edged Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Silkeborg, making their first group stage appearance in Europe since the 1997 Intertoto Cup, broke the deadlock after less than five minutes thanks to Kasper Kusk’s effort.

The Hammers responded just before the quarter of an hour mark as Manuel Lanzini converted a spot-kick.

The visitors took the lead on 25 minutes as Gianluca Scamacca claimed his third goal for the club before veteran centre-back Craig Dawson added a third for the English side before the break.

Soren Tengstedt cut David Moyes’ side’s lead with 15 minutes left but they held on for a second straight win in the competition.

Last season’s Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal continued their perfect start as 35-year-old striker Jose Luis Morales scored his fourth goal of the campaign in a 2-1 win in Israel.

The home side drew level after the hour with Rotem Hatuel’s effort before 21-year-old Alex Baena grabbed the winner for the Spaniards.

After last week’s fan trouble on the Mediterranean coast between Nice and Cologne, the French side drew 1-1 with Serbians Partizan Belgrade as English left-back Joe Bryan opened his account for the Ligue 1 club. Cologne overcame Slovacko 4-2 thanks to Austria midfielder Dejan Ljubicic’s double.

Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar remained unbeaten atop Group ‘E’ after hammering Vaduz from Liechtenstein 4-1 as Japan right-back Yukinari Sugawara and midfielder Dani de Wit scored in injury time.

Ivory Coast winger Max Gradel netted his third goal of the season in all competitions as Turks Sivasspor edged Romanians Cluj 1-0.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2022