Europa League | Theo Walcott brace helps Arsenal edge past Borisov; Everton secure a draw against Apollon Limassol
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Theo Walcott scored twice to guide Arsenal to a 4-2 victory over Bate Borisov in the Europa League to make it two wins from two in Group H. Meanwhile, a 10-man Apollon Limassol scored two late goals against Everton that resulted in the Premier League club remained at the foot of the Group E table.
BATE Borisov 2 - 4 Arsenal
Theo Walcott’s brace and Olivier Giroud’s 100th Arsenal goal helped the London club register a 4-2 victory over BATE Borisov - their second successive Europa League win. Arsenal dominated the game right from the start and just within 10 minutes of the game, took the advantage when Jack Wilshere burst into the box and Theo Walcott's header was half-stopped by Denis Scherbitski, but the former our it past the goalkeeper from point-blank range. Although the hosts, Borisov, created a chance after 20 minutes of the game, they failed to capitalize on that and within three minutes, they were two down as Walcott struck again, accepting a gift when Scherbitski's terrible attempt to pass the ball out of his area gave him the chance to roll a finish inside the post.Â
The scoreline became 3-0 in favour of Arsenal when Per Mertesacker's header went in off Rob Holding for his first Arsenal goal. But against the run of play, Borisov pulled one goal back within two minutes, Alexei Rios sending in a good cross from the right that was headed home by Ivanic. Arsenal again restored their three-goal advantage after the break as Giroud scored his 100th Arsenal goal from the spot after a soft penalty was awarded against Vitali Gayduchik. The hosts were able to reduce the deficit to two goals with a little over 20 minutes remaining when Mikhail Gordeichuk hammered home from close range.
With the victory, the Gunners are at the top of Group H with six points with Red Star Belgrade second on four points after they beat Cologne, who have lost both matches.Â
AC Milan 3 - 2 Rijeka
Thanks to an injury time winner, AC Milan managed to earn a 3-2 victory over Croatian champions HNK Rijeka in the Europa League. Milan found their name on the score sheet in the 14th minute in the match when Andre Silva struck, making room for himself inside the area and arrowed a fine finish past Simon Sluga. In the 53rd minute of the match, Milan struck again as a corner fell for defender Mateo Musacchio, who scored from close range.
With six minutes to go in the second half, Milan seemed set to win the match comfortably, but things changed when substitute Maxwell Acosty halved the deficit for Rijeka before Cutrone steered home a fine finish in the third of the added five minutes.Â
Everton 2 - 2 Apollon Limassol
Adrian Sardinero Corpa presented Limassol the advantage in the 12th minute, but Wayne Rooney cancelled that out when he ran onto an awful back-pass to Apollon keeper Bruno Vale and finished into the empty net. Nikola Vlasic's goal seemed to have given Everton their first points of the campaign, but Hector Yuste snatched the equaliser for the visitors just two minutes later and the match finished with a 2-2 draw.Â
Other Results :
Lyon 1 - 1 Atalanta
FC Astana 1 - 1 Slavia Prague
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0 - 0 Villarreal
Partizan Beograd 2 - 3 Dynamo Kyiv
Skenderbeu 1 - 1 Young Boys
Braga 2 - 1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Ludogorets Razgrad 2 - 1 Hoffenheim
AEK Athens 2 - 2 Austria Wien
FC Sheriff 0 - 0 FC
Lokomotiv Moscow 3 - 0 Zlin
Lugano 1 - 2 FC FCSB
Viktoria Plzen 3 - 1 Hapoel Beer Sheva
FC Cologne 0 - 1 FK Crvena Zvezda
Konyaspor 2 - 1 Vitoria de Guimaraes
Salzburg 1 - 0 Marseille
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 1 Zorya
Oestersunds FK 1 - 0 Hertha Berlin
Lazio 2 - 0 Zulte-Waregem
Nice 3 - 0 Vitesse
Rosenborg 3 - 1 FK Vardar Skopje
Zenit St. Petersburg 3 - 1 Real Sociedad
