Ten-man Tottenham Hotspur secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Azerbaijani side Qarabag in their opening Europa League group stage clash, after the match was delayed by over half an hour due to travel disruptions.
Spurs were reduced to 10 men after eight minutes when Radu Dragusin was shown a red card, but four minutes later Brennan Johnson put the English side ahead with a side-footed finish and Pape Matar Sarr doubled the lead seven minutes after the break.
Dominic Solanke effectively sealed the win in the 68th minute when he tapped home the third after an error by Qarabag keeper Mateusz Kochalski.
Qarabag had chances, Tural Baymarov missing from the penalty spot just before the hour mark and Junior hitting the woodwork, but Spurs stayed in control of the match.
"When you go down to 10 men, invariably at times you can't be as aggressive or keep the ball as much or play as fluently, but for the most part the intent was there," said Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou.
"That's the kind of team we want to be and whatever challenge we have before us, to tackle it that way."
Meanwhile, AS Roma had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with Athletic Bilbao after Aitor Paredes's lateequaliser for the Spanish side.
Ukrainian forward Artem Dovbyk scored with a powerful header in the 32nd minute of the teams' first European meeting, but Paredes levelled with a header five minutes from time.
Rangers took an early lead against Swedish side Malmo through Nedim Bajrami in an early kickoff before Ross McCausland sealed a 2-0 win for the Scottish side.
Ajax Amsterdam overwhelmed Turkey's Besiktas 4-0 at home thanks to goals by Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor and a brace from Mika Godts.
Olympique Lyonnais clinched a 2-0 home victory over Conference League champions Olympiacos through quick-fire second-half goals by Rayan Cherki and Said Benrahma.
Eintracht Frankfurt were held to a 3-3 home draw by Viktoria Plzen after the Czech side fought back with two late goals.
Isak ready for team training return after injury layoff in boost for Liverpool, Sweden
Kerr’s unbeaten 179 powers New Zealand to record ODI chase against South Africa
Iraq qualify for World Cup with win over Bolivia
DR Congo score extra-time winner to qualify for World Cup
Brazil score twice late on to beat Croatia 3-1 in World Cup tune-up
