Michail Antonio and Declan Rice struck in each half to secure a 2-0 win for West Ham against Dinamo Zagreb in Thursday's Europa League opener.

Antonio opened the scoring as he capitalised on Kevin Theophile-Catherine's poor pass to finish into an empty net, before Rice doubled the lead five minutes after the break.

Luka Ivanusec almost beat Lukasz Fabianksi, who did not make a save all game, but that was Dinamo's only opportunity as West Ham secured their first win in European competition since 1999 to top Group H.

In contrast, Dinamo will be disappointed with their efforts at the Maksimir Stadium as their 13-match undefeated run in the group stage of the competition ended abruptly.

The visitors boasted almost 70 per cent possession inside the opening 15 minutes but, barring a barrage of corners, Aaron Cresswell's inaccurate long-range effort was their only half-chance.

However, Antonio made West Ham's dominance pay as he profited from Theophile-Catherine's concentration lapse to round Dominik Livakovic and score the Hammers' first goal in Europe since 1999.

Ryan Fredericks was then denied by the Dinamo goalkeeper's feet before Nikola Vlasic fired narrowly wide on the stroke of half-time.

Dinamo looked to respond immediately in the second half, with Bruno Petkovic blasting narrowly wide but it was Rice who added a second, driving forward before powering a left-footed strike through the legs of Livakovic.

Ivanusec tried to pull one back, dancing around Kurt Zouma prior to curling towards the bottom-right corner, only to see his effort trickle wide as Fabianski passed the hour-mark without making a save.

With David Moyes' men dominant, Pablo Fornals looked for a third with a low attempt but found Livakovic's hands as the visitors cruised to a memorable return to European football.

Tottenham will face Rennes, Vitesse and NS Mura in the group stage of the inaugural Europa Conference League.

Spurs, with the help of a double from Harry Kane, secured qualification for UEFA's new third-tier club competition with a 3-0 win over Pacos de Ferreira on Thursday.

The presence of Kane, who will be staying at Tottenham despite Manchester City's long-standing interest, is sure to make Spurs one of the favourites to win the tournament.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side were placed into Group G, and have avoided too many arduous journeys, with a trip to Slovenia to face Mura – a team only formed in 2012 – the longest trip in store.

Roma, coached by former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, are the tournament's other favourites. The Serie A club will face Zorya Luhansk, CSKA Sofia and Bodo/Glimt in Group C.

The Europa League group stage has been trimmed to 32 teams, with Napoli arguably the headline act.

FA Cup winners Leicester City have been drawn in Group E alongside the Italian giants, as well as Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw.

The Premier League's other representatives – West Ham – were drawn in Group H, in which they will face Dinamo Zagreb, Genk and Rapid Vienna.

Steven Gerrard's Rangers were placed into Group A with Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby, while Scottish rivals Celtic are in a difficult-looking Group G which includes Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and Ferencvaros.

Group E pits Lazio, Marseille, Galatasary and Lokomotiv Moscow up against each other in what promises to be a thriller, while Monaco, PSV, Real Sociedad and Sturm Graz will battle it out for progression from Group B.

The first matches will take place on September 16, with the group stage of both competitions concluding on December 9.

Europa League group stage draw in full:

Group A: Lyon, Rangers, Sparta Prague, Brondby
Group B: Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Real Sociedad, Sturm Graz
Group C: Napoli, Leicester City, Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw
Group D: Olympiacos, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, Royal Antwerp
Group E: Lazio, Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Galatasaray
Group F: Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Ludogorets, Midtjylland
Group G: Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic, Real Betis, Ferencvaros
Group H: Dinamo Zagreb, Genk, West Ham, Rapid Vienna

Europa Conference League group stage draw in full: 

Group A: LASK, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Alashkert, HJK Helsinki
Group B: Gent, FK Partizan, Flora, Anorthosis
Group C: Roma, Zorya Luhansk, CSKA Sofia, Bodo/Glimt
Group D: AZ Alkmaar, CFR Cluj, Jablonec, Randers
Group E: Slavia Prague, Feyenoord, Union Berlin,
Group F: Copenhagen, PAOK, Slovan Bratislava, Lincoln Red Imps
Group G: Tottenham, Rennes, Vitesse, Mura
Group H: Basel, Qarabag, Kairat, Omonoia

Carl Starfelt's own goal did not prove to be costly as Celtic reached the group stage of the Europa League despite a 2-1 defeat to AZ.

The Hoops started the second leg at the AFAS Stadion on Thursday with a 2-0 lead from the first leg and edged through at the expense of their Eredivisie opponents.

Kyogo Furuhashi continued a great start to his Celtic career by opening the scoring with his seventh goal for the Glasgow club, but Zakaria Aboukhlal gave AZ hope when he equalised only six minutes in.

Starfelt found the back of his own net with 26 minutes gone and AZ ramped up the pressure after the break, but Ange Postecoglou's side clung on to advance 3-2 on aggregate ahead of the Old Firm derby at Ibrox on Sunday.

Furuhashi fired home with his left foot in the third minute, only for Aboukhlal to level with a strike from the centre of the penalty area to punish some poor defending and uncertain goalkeeping from Joe Hart.

Celtic were not doing themselves any favours and Starfelt embarrassingly turned the ball into his own net when attempting to clear the ball.

AZ had their chances to force extra time but were made to pay for some poor finishing, with Ernest Poku missing a golden opportunity from close range and Dani de Wit putting a free header wide.

Celtic's six-game winning run came to an end but they held on to qualification as AZ were consigned to the Europa Conference League group stage instead.

 

Rangers are through to the Europa League group stage for a fourth successive season after drawing 0-0 away at 10-man Alashkert on Thursday to progress 1-0 on aggregate.

Alfredo Morelos missed a hat-trick of big chances against Alashkert – who played more than 45 minutes with 10 men after James was dismissed – though the Colombian's goal in last week's first leg ultimately proved the difference.

The Gers were without manager Steven Gerrard, skipper James Tavernier and five others due to a coronavirus outbreak in their camp, but they were on top in the first half at Nairi Marzadasht.

Joe Aribo's curling drive was touched on to the post by Ognjen Cancarevic, either side of Morelos firing over when played through and being denied by the Alashkert goalkeeper from another one-on-one.

Despite losing attacker James to two yellow cards in the space of two minutes shortly before half-time, the hosts started to grow into the game and nearly levelled when Aleksandar Glisic headed over the bar from close range.

The best of the remaining opportunities fell Rangers' way, though, with Morelos volleying off target from 10 yards with his latest chance and Aribo being denied by the woodwork for a second time late on.

Gerrard's side will discover their group-stage opponents in Friday's draw, while Alashkert will now compete in the inaugural Europa Conference League competition.

Alfredo Morelos scored the only goal of the game as below-par 10-man Rangers defeated Alashkert 1-0 in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie at Ibrox.

The Colombian struck in the second half to give Steven Gerrard's men a lead for the return tie in Armenia, despite John Lundstram seeing red shortly before the break.

Save for a Ryan Kent effort that hit the crossbar, Rangers struggled to turn possessional dominance into chances in the opening period.

Lundstram's red for two sloppy yellow cards left the hosts a man down and Calvin Bassey's claims for what would have been a soft penalty summed up a shoddy first-half effort from Rangers.

Scott Wright also felt he was felled in the area by Rumyan Hovsepyan early in the second half before Morelos saw an effort cleared off the line by Didier Kadio and then headed woefully wide from Ianis Hagi's teasing delivery.

But it was third time a charm for Morelos, who drilled under the legs of Ognjen Cancarevic after beating the offside trap to reach James Tavernier's long pass in the 67th minute.

That proved enough for a Rangers side that were knocked out in the Champions League qualifiers by Malmo.

 

Celtic will take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their Europa League play-off tie with AZ thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and James Forrest at Celtic Park.

The Scottish side eased to a 7-2 aggregate win against Jablonec in the third qualifying round, having seen their Champions League qualifying hopes dashed by Midtjylland, and were good value for their victory in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Furuhashi fired the hosts in front with 12 minutes played and teed up Forrest for Celtic's second with just over an hour on the clock, leaving the hosts in a commanding position ahead of the return game in Alkmaar next Thursday.

AZ entered the competition at this stage by virtue of finishing third in the Eredivisie last season and the Dutch side, who have lost some key players since the end of the previous campaign, started the first leg strongly.

Zakaria Aboukhlal had a penalty appeal turned down in the opening few minutes and Joe Hart then produced a superb save with his toes to help Vangelis Pavlidis' shot onto the post.

But Furuhashi helped settle any Celtic nerves with his sixth goal in six games since joining, the Japan international athletically prodding the ball home after being picked out at the back post by David Turnbull.

Forest had a shot well kept out by Hobie Verhulst as Ange Postecoglou's side pushed for a second, though they were given a warning at the other end when Aboukhlal forced Hart into another save.

Shortly after Thijs Oosting had wasted a glorious chance for AZ by firing over from 10 yards, Celtic scored a potentially vital second goal through Forrest's shot on the turn, which took a wicked deflection off Timo Letschert on its way through.

Substitute Odsonne Edouard was twice denied by Verhulst in quick succession late on, but Celtic did at least keep out the opposition at the other end for an all-important clean sheet as they made it five wins in a row for Postecoglou.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou heaped praise on veteran English goalkeeper Joe Hart after keeping back-to-back clean sheets for his new club.

The 34-year-old former England international signed with Celtic last week from Tottenham on a three-year deal.

Hart had a scratchy debut in a 4-2 Europa League win at Jablonec last week but has since kept clean sheets as the Hoops recorded 6-0 and 3-0 wins over Dundee and the Czech outfit respectively.

Postecoglou had utilised Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain in goal in games earlier this season but Hart now appears first choice.

Celtic's victory over Jablonec on Thursday saw them progress into the Europa League playoff round with a 7-2 aggregate win, with Hart making a few key saves.

"He’s a top quality goalkeeper and he was there when we needed him tonight," Postecoglou said after the game.

"Aside from that, he has a real presence around the place and he’s very motivated to have success and that’s the kind of people we need here."

Postecoglou, who took over at Celtic Park in June, has been criticised in some quarters since his arrival, not helped by crashing out of the Champions League in qualifying to Midtjylland and losing to newly-promoted Hearts in their opening league fixture.

However in Thursday's win, Celtic adopted the Australian's renowned possession-based style of play, which served him well in Japan with 2019 J.League champions Yokohama F. Marinos.

"It’s part of who we want to be," Postecoglou said about their style. "We’ve got to be a team that shows no fear and tries to play our football and dictate the game.

"It’s not easy to do, to be fair, and I do put a lot of responsibility and expectation on the players to do that.

"The other side of that is that you do get great rewards if you’re prepared to be brave, and I think that these last two or three games, we’ve got our rewards for it."

David Turnbull's double helped Celtic secure a safe passage through to the Europa League play-off round as the Scottish side saw off Jablonec 7-2 on aggregate.

Celtic, playing in front of a full house at Celtic Park for the first time since March 2020, held a healthy lead from the first leg and had little trouble seeing the job through.

Scotland international Turnbull opened the scoring in Glasgow with 25 minutes played and doubled his tally 10 minutes into the second period with a fine finish.

James Forrest tapped in a third to make it 3-0 on the day to Celtic, who will now face AZ over two legs for a place in the group stage of the competition.

Ange Postecoglou's side were on top from the off and thought they had taken the lead inside 14 minutes, only for Kyogo Furuhashi to be flagged for a marginal offside call.

The home side's pressure told soon after when Greg Taylor played in Turnbull and the midfielder poked the ball past Jan Hanus with the outside of his boot.

Despite a drop off in tempo, Celtic remained in complete control and went further in front thanks to Turnbull's shot from outside the box that Hanus could not get down to.

Joe Hart twice made saves as Jablonec finally gave the home keeper something to do, but the final goal of the one-sided tie went Celtic's way.

Forrest was on hand to slide in and convert after Odsonne Edouard, brought on as a second-half substitute for the third game running, had a shot well saved.

Celtic battled to a 4-2 victory over Jablonec in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie despite leaving star forward Odsonne Edouard on the bench.

The win represented Ange Postecoglou's first competitive success since his appointment in June, with strikes from Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi, James Forrest and Ryan Christie putting the Hoops in firm control of the two-legged encounter.

Having suffered another Champions League mishap against Midtjylland, Celtic asserted their authority early as Abada converted on the follow-up from his initial effort to open the scoring.

Furuhashi, on his first Celtic start, doubled the visitors' lead with a delicate dink just four minutes later, but Vaclav Pilar instantly responded to halve the deficit, smashing a half-volley past debutant Joe Hart.

After the hour mark, Abada twisted and turned on the edge of the area before Jan Hanus denied him, only for Forrest to sneak in on the rebound to restore the Hoops' two-goal advantage.

Tomas Malinsky curled in a second for the hosts, but Christie added an important fourth for Celtic when he directed a diving header past Hanus in the 88th minute.

Christie's late effort means Postecoglou's men, who will no longer benefit from the away goals rule in Europe, take a two-goal lead back to Celtic Park next Thursday after hosting Dundee in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Istanbul will finally get to stage the Champions League final in 2023, UEFA has announced.

The Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Turkey was originally due to put on Europe's biggest club match in 2020, only for the coronavirus pandemic to mean the closing stages of the tournament were shifted to Lisbon.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were all played in Portugal's capital, with Istanbul awarded the 2021 final instead.

However, that too was taken away when UEFA moved the match between Chelsea and Manchester City to Porto, this time because Turkey was on the United Kingdom's travel red list amid the continuing COVID-19 health crisis.

Supporters of the two English clubs would have been unable to make the trip to Istanbul, but restrictions on travel to Portugal were less stringent.

Now UEFA's executive committee has awarded the 2023 final to Istanbul, in the hope it will get to stage the game in two years' time. Munich was due to host the game but will instead stage the 2025 final.

UEFA said in a statement: "Following the relocation of the 2021 UEFA Champions League final from Istanbul to Porto, it was decided to award the staging of the 2023 UEFA Champions League final to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

"Furthermore, the European club season kick-off event, which includes the draws for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League will take place in Istanbul at the end of August both for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons."

UEFA said that Wembley's position as host venue for the 2024 final was unaffected.

It also said it had reached "a settlement agreement" with Dublin and Bilbao after both cities were unable to stage Euro 2020 matches, as had been the original plan.

They could not meet UEFA's requirements on spectator numbers, owing to the COVID-19 situation, but the governing body said it recognised "the efforts and financial investment put by the two cities in preparing for the tournament".

It said Dublin would now host the 2024 Europa League final and Bilbao would stage both the 2025 Europa League final and the 2024 Women's Champions League final.

UEFA has announced the away goals rule will no longer be used in any of the organisation's club competitions for the 2021-22 season.

The regulation was first introduced in 1965 to decide the outcome of a two-legged knockout tie in cases where the teams were level on aggregate.

However, statistical data has shown a reduction in the gap between home and away wins, according to data released by the governing body on Wednesday, as well as the average number of goals scored at home and on the road.

Following the recommendation of both its club competitions committee and women's football committee, UEFA has abolished the ruling for the upcoming campaign, with the change made ahead of the start of the qualifying phases.

"The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.

"However, the question of its abolition has been debated at various UEFA meetings over the last few years. Although there was no unanimity of views, many coaches, fans and other football stakeholders have questioned its fairness and have expressed a preference for the rule to be abolished.

"The impact of the rule now runs counter to its original purpose as, in fact, it now dissuades home teams – especially in first legs – from attacking, because they fear conceding a goal that would give their opponents a crucial advantage.

"There is also criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to score twice when the away team has scored."

Analysing data stretching back to the mid-1970s, UEFA revealed how the success rate for teams at home in men's competitions had dropped from 61 to 47 per cent, while away wins had risen from just 19 per cent up to 30 per cent.

"It is fair to say that home advantage is nowadays no longer as significant as it once was," Ceferin said.

"Taking into consideration the consistency across Europe in terms of styles of play, and many different factors which have led to a decline in home advantage, the UEFA executive committee has taken the correct decision in adopting the view that it is no longer appropriate for an away goal to carry more weight than one scored at home."

The decision means away goals will no longer be a factor to consider in the Champions League, Europa League and the new Europa Conference League, as well as the Women's Champions League.

Manchester United had a "great season" in 2020-21 despite their trophy drought stretching to four years, midfielder Fred said.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side finished in the top two of the Premier League for only the second time since Alex Ferguson retired after securing the title in 2012-13.

However, the Red Devils were 12 points adrift of Manchester City, who also defeated them in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, while their FA Cup campaign was ended by Leicester City at the quarter-final stage.

After dropping out of the Champions League following defeats in their final two group games to Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, United reached the final of the Europa League, ending a run of four consecutive semi-final defeats in cup competitions under Solskjaer.

They could not end their wait for silverware, though, goalkeeper David de Gea missing the crucial penalty in a shoot-out with Villarreal following a goalless draw in Gdansk.

That failure to win the final prompted questions over Solskjaer's long-term suitability to the manager's job despite the Norwegian having improved United's league campaign compared with 2019-20, when United won three games fewer, scored seven fewer goals and finished on 66 points, a massive 33 behind champions Liverpool.

Fred sees reason to be optimistic about the future, insisting United can be happy with their efforts given their involvement in last term's rearranged Europa League semi-finals meant they had no proper pre-season.

"We had the Europa League semi-final, which prolonged last season," he told United's website. "We didn't have a pre-season and got better and better over the season and reached the final.

"I think overall the team's had a great season, we could have achieved more, we wanted to win more trophies, but I think generally it's been a great season."

Fred, who is with the Brazil squad preparing for the Copa America, made 48 appearances in all competitions in 2020-21, a tally surpassed by only six United players.

"It's really important to me to be starting in games, to be in the 11," he said. "I've played and started in a lot of games this season. I'm really happy with this, happy to have been in good form and having a great season together with the entire team.

"As I've already said, I want much more, more trophies with United, I want to achieve a lot here and I'm sure there's a lot more to come."

Paul Pogba believes Manchester United will come back stronger following the disappointment of losing the Europa League final.

United were beaten 11-10 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out by Villarreal in Gdansk on Wednesday, goalkeeper David de Gea missing the crucial kick after the game had finished 1-1 after extra time.

The defeat means manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still waiting to claim his first trophy in the job.

Indeed, the Red Devils have not won silverware since triumphing in the same competition under Jose Mourinho in 2017.

For Pogba – who was substituted in the 116th minute, denying him the chance to take a penalty – the defeat was a disappointing way to finish the campaign, though the midfielder quickly switched his focus to the future.

"I needed some days to reflect after the match," Pogba wrote in a Twitter post to accompany a picture of the United squad gathered together.

"Of course, very upset not to win the final but we're a team that will look forward with our heads held high.

"Thank you to all of the fans for the support. We will come back stronger."

Pogba played in 42 games in the campaign for United, scoring six goals and providing the same number of assists as Solskjaer’s side finished second in the Premier League.

However, before he is back in action at club level, Pogba will be involved for France at Euro 2020.

Didier Deschamps' reigning world champions are in Group F for the round-robin stage, along with Germany, Hungary and Portugal, who denied Les Bleus in the Euro 2016 final in Paris courtesy of an extra-time winner.

Marcus Rashford and Manchester United have condemned social media users who allegedly racially abused the England star after Wednesday's Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.

United lost 11-10 to Villarreal on penalties following a marathon shoot-out after the sides could not be split at the conclusion of extra time, with the score 1-1 in Gdansk.

Rashford received online racial abuse in January after United's 0-0 Premier League draw against Arsenal and said he was subject to similar comments again, prompting the forward to call them out.

The England international said he had seen "at least 70 racial slurs" on his social media account following the defeat.

"At least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far," Rashford wrote on Twitter. "For those working to make me feel any worse than I already do, good luck trying."

United swiftly backed Rashford, condemning the racial abuse on social media.

"Following the #UEL final, our players were subjected to disgraceful racist abuse," the official United account tweeted. "If you see any form of abuse or discrimination, act and report it."

After the racial abuse in January, Rashford described the slurs as society at its worst.

"Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I'm a black man and I live every day proud that I am," Rashford wrote on Twitter at the time.

"No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you're just simply not going to get it here.

"I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there's nothing original in them.

"I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don't need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identified his side's need to bolster their starting XI with two or three signings following their Europa League final defeat.

United lost 11-10 to Villarreal on penalties in Wednesday's decider in Gdansk after a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes – the Red Devils ending their 2020-21 season without a trophy.

Solskjaer's United have lost six of their last seven penalty shoot-outs in all competitions, only winning against Rochdale in the EFL Cup in September 2019 during that time.

Edinson Cavani – who cancelled out Gerard Moreno's first-half opener in the 55th minute – became just the third player aged 34 or above to score in a major European final for an English club, after Gary McAllister (36) for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup final against Deportivo Alaves in 2000-01 and Didier Drogba (34) for Chelsea in the Champions League final versus Bayern Munich in 2011-12.

Premier League giants United – who finished second behind neighbours Manchester City this term – have not won any silverware since 2017 and have been linked with a host of players to bolster their squad this off-season, including Tottenham star Harry Kane, Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres.

"We've done as well as anyone could imagine," Solskjaer said during his post-game news conference. "We need to do better, we need to work better, harder, cleverer.

"Two or three players to strengthen the starting XI is important for us to go even further. I'm sure our contenders, challengers will also want to improve as well."

David de Gea's selection in the United XI was hotly debated, with competition from Dean Henderson – who played several of their late season Premier League matches.

Spain international De Gea was unable to make any saves during the shoot-out before seeing his own decisive penalty blocked by Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli as the Yellow Submarine won their first major European title.

"You go through every scenario and it has crossed my mind in the build up to the game, but we were confident in David," Solskjaer said, when asked if he considered bringing on Henderson to replace de Gea for the shoot-out. "I stuck with the keeper that played all the games."

Solskjaer conceded United's 2020-21 season, which is now over, was not a success given they failed to win a trophy and implored his side to find the will to improve.

The Red Devils lost in the EFL Cup semi-finals and FA Cup quarter-finals, while they were eliminated in the Champions League group stage.

Solskjaer pinpointed United's start to the Premier League, collecting only seven points from their first six games, as an area for improvement next term.

"That disappointment is the worst feeling," he said. "These are the moments you remember most.

"There are two ways, you can feel sorry for yourself or you can do something about it and come back stronger.

"We know that we didn't start this season great. We fell behind, too far behind. We need to start really well."

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