Benfica closed in on a Champions League group stage berth with a 2-1 home win over PSV Eindhoven and 10-man Young Boys beat Ferencvaros 3-2 in the first legs of their playoff-round ties on Wednesday.
In the day’s other clash, goals from Veljko Birmancevic and Jo Inge Berget helped Malmo to a 2-0 victory over visiting Ludogorets Razgrad.
A repeat of the 1988 European Cup final, when PSV beat Benfica on penalties to win their maiden title in Europe’s premier club competition, produced an entertaining clash at La Luz stadium.
Rafa Silva gave Benfica a 10th-minute lead when he bundled the ball home from eight metres after Roman Yaremchuk put him through with a clever pass.
Julian Weigl made it 2-0 in the 42nd as he buried the ball into the roof of the net from close range following a goalmouth scramble, with Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos producing a pair of fine saves at the other end.
PSV were on the front foot in the second half after Cody Gakpo pulled one back for the Dutch side with a sizzling low shot in the 51st minute and only a string of superb stops from Vlachodimos denied them an equaliser.
Ferencvaros took an early lead at Young Boys through Franck Boli, who salvaged the Hungarian side’s hopes of advancing when he pulled it back to 3-2 after the home team had turned the match on its head.
After Meschack Elia had levelled for Young Boys, Myrto Uzuni missed a penalty for Ferencvaros, with the incident also producing a straight red card for home defender Silvan Hefti who hauled down Endre Botka.
Ferencvaros had the ball in the back of the net from the rebound, as Uzuni’s shot cannoned off the post and ricochetted off goalkeeper Guillaume Faivre’s back into the path of Aissa Laidouni, but the goal was ruled out for encroachment.
A swerving Vincent Sierro volley and a fine low shot by Ulisses Garcia gave Young Boys a 3-1 lead before Boli struck with a thunderbolt from 20 metres for the visitors to set up a mouth-watering return leg in Budapest.
Malmo dominated Ludogorets and after Anders Christiansen hit the post early on, Birmancevic fired them ahead with a first-time shot in the 26th minute before Berget slid in to steer home a rebound on the hour.
The return legs will be played next Tuesday, with the other three fixtures set for Wednesday.
Sheriff Tiraspol visit Dinamo Zagreb holding a 3-0 first-leg advantage, Brondby host RB Salzburg aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit and Shakhtar Donetsk are at home to Monaco after beating them 1-0 in the principality.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Celtic 2-0 winners over Alkmaar
Kyogo Furuhashi scored his sixth Celtic goal in a 2-0 Europa League qualifying victory over AZ Alkmaar in Glasgow.
The Japan forward settled Celtic’s early nerves after a brilliant assist from Tom Rogic, and James Forrest netted a deflected second-half goal to ensure his side take a decent lead into the second leg of the play-off.
Celtic were denied a late third amid a dramatic goalmouth scramble but the Dutch side showed enough going forward to suggest the return leg will be far from a formality.
The victory made it five in a row for new manager Ange Postecoglou, who brought in the fit-again Liel Abada for Odsonne Edouard. There was no place for Leigh Griffiths among the 11 substitutes.
The visitors had an early penalty appeal but Zakaria Aboukhal went down very easily amid the attention of Stephen Welsh.
Celtic had a bigger let-off when AZ skipper Teun Koopmeiners broke down the right and crossed for Vangelis Pavlidis, whose shot seemed destined for the net only for Joe Hart’s toe to divert if off the inside of a post and into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Rogic appeared immune to the early shakiness affecting many of his team-mates and he almost put Furuhashi away with a searching through ball before setting up the Japan forward for the opening goal in the 12th minute.
The Australian shimmied his way to the byline and crossed for Furuhashi to show his agility and volley home from close range.
Celtic pushed for a quick second. Abada and Rogic forced a double save and the same pair both had shots blocked after good wing play from Anthony Ralston.
Rogic continued to thread passes and almost got Forrest and Furuhashi in behind. The Scotland winger soon came close with a curling effort that was clawed away from the top corner.
There were still occasional threats from AZ and Hart made a good diving stop from Aboukhal after Carl Starfelt had given the ball away.
A Welsh header and long-range David Turnbull strike were off target before half-time.
Cetic also had a major reprieve early in the second half after Starfelt failed to cut out a through ball. Welsh snuffed out the initial danger with a sliding challenge and Thijs Oosting shot over from eight yards after the loose ball fell perfectly for the left-back.
Greg Taylor diverted an Aboukhal shot just wide and the Celtic support raised the decibel level, recognising their team needed support. Postecoglou also responded, bringing on Edouard for Abada.
Celtic soon went two up in the 61st minute. Furuhashi played the ball in to Forrest, who had his back to goal but managed to get in a shot which took a major deflection off Timo Letschert and wrong-footed the goalkeeper.
The noise levels went up further as the home support enjoyed the two-goal cushion, although there was a moment of silence before Ralston further enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a sliding clearance in the six-yard box.
Rogic came close to the goal his overall play deserved with a long-range strike that was pushed over the crossbar.
The Australian and Furuhashi were replaced by James McCarthy and Adam Montgomery for the final 15 minutes and Celtic looked like they had settled for two.
However, they had a string of efforts after Ralston got to the byline and cut the ball back. Edouard was denied twice by the goalkeeper before Montgomery’s header was cleared off the line.
REUTERS