• Former Southampton striker helps Italian champions to 2-0 win
• Ajax crumble to 3-0 home defeat against Red Bull Salzburg
Dani Osvaldo scored his first goal for Juventus to set the Italian champions on the way to a 2-0 win over Trabzonspor in the round of 32 first-leg Europa League tie on Thursday.
Osvaldo, signed on loan after a troubled six months at Premier League Southampton, started for the first time and fired home with an angled shot in the 16th minute after the ball ricocheted to him.
Juventus, one of eight teams who parachuted into the Europa League knockout stage after finishing third in their Champions League group, lived dangerously before Paul Pogba added the second from a Carlos Tevez pass in stoppage time.
Juve’s compatriots Fiorentina won 3-1 at Esbjerg. Alessandro Matri, Josip Ilicic and Alberto Aquilani, from the penalty spot, shared the goals in Fiorentina’s win while Martin Pusic replied for the Danes, all before half-time.
It was a disappointing night for Ajax, who lost 3-0 at home to Red Bull Salzburg. The damage was done in the first half with all three goals scored in the first 35 minutes. Jonathan Soriano gave Salzburg a 14th-minute lead with a penalty and Sadio Mane doubled the advantage with a clinical finish from Kevin Kampl’s pass seven minutes later.
The highlight came in the 35th minute when Spaniard Soriano picked up a loose ball inside the centre circle, saw the Ajax goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen, off his line and scored with a looping effort.
Valencia scored two late goals to beat Dynamo Kiev in a match played in neutral Cyprus after being moved from Ukraine because of violent unrest in Kiev.
New signing Eduardo Vargas headed in from a corner in the 79th minute and Sofiane Feghouli scored a fortuitous second with a wayward shot that hit Domagoj Vida and looped over the committed Kiev keeper Olexandr Rybka.
Lazio’s difficult season continued as they missed a penalty on their way to a defeat against the Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets Razgradin, a game which also featured two red cards.
Roman Bezjak sank Lazio with a swerving 25-metre shot on the stroke of half-time and Lazio’s Felipe Anderson had a penalty saved after the re-start before Ludogorets’ Svetoslav Dyakov and Lazio’s Luis Cavanda were both sent off.
AZ Alkmaar also snatched a late win at Slovan Liberec following a mistake by goalkeeper Premysl Kovar, who spilled Nemanja Gudelj’s free-kick and allowed Nick Viergever to score into an empty goal in the 89th minute.
Chernomorets Odessa were held 0-0 at home by Lyon and Anzhi Makhachkala’s match at home to Genk also ended goalless.
- Europa League
- Juventus
- European club football
- Ajax
- Lazio
- Fiorentina
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Valencia
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Lyon
theguardian.com