Černý nets winner for Beşiktaş, Hoffenheim with Hložek and Coufal fall on Crete

In the opening matchday of the Europa League's league phase, Beşiktaş beat Olympique Marseille 4-1, with Czech forward Matěj Černý playing a decisive role in the victory. Meanwhile, Germany's Hoffenheim — featuring Czechs Adam Hložek and Vladimír Coufal — suffered a surprise 0-2 defeat away to OFI Crete.

Černý's goal seals Beşiktaş rout

With the score at 1-1 in the 56th minute, Kökçü found Černý on the right flank; the Czech striker shifted the ball onto his left foot and curled a precise shot into the far corner — the ball clipped the post before nestling into the net. It was Černý's fourth goal of the season: one came in qualifying against Hradec Králové, and two more in the Turkish league. Over the summer, Černý turned down call-ups to the national team. Beşiktaş went on to thrash Marseille 4-1 and now sit third in the overall table with four points (having played the same number of matches), level with Sparta Prague.

Hoffenheim collapse on Crete

Despite dominating possession, the German side proved less dangerous in front of goal than their hosts. OFI secured a surprise win thanks to goals from Cantalapiedra in the first half and Kanellopoulos in the second. Coufal picked up a yellow card for a tactical foul, while Hložek was substituted by coach Christian Ilzer in the 75th minute. Neither Hložek nor his fellow attackers managed to find the net this time — a stark contrast to the day before, when Hložek scored twice to give Hoffenheim their first Bundesliga win of the season, beating Stuttgart 2-1. That brace marked his first Bundesliga goal since early May of last year.

How the Czech clubs' future rivals fared

Levski Sofia, Plzeň's next opponent in matchday three, lost 0-1 to Salzburg — the same side Sparta will face in December. Ferencváros of Budapest, Viktoria Plzeň's upcoming Europa League rival, won 3-1 at Celtic Park in Glasgow. Sparta's matchday-seven opponents, Crystal Palace, thrashed Lech Poznań 4-0.

Lillestrøm lost 1-2 to Portugal's Torreense — the Norwegians will face Sparta at Letná in the very next round, while Plzeň meet them in November, in matchday four. Bournemouth, who beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in San Sebastián, await both Czech clubs: Sparta at home in matchday four, and Plzeň away in December. Real Sociedad, in turn, will host Viktoria in January.

Elsewhere, Juventus put on a show of their own, hammering Nijmegen 5-0 to top the overall table of the 36-team competition. After matchday one, Sparta Prague sit third following Wednesday's 4-1 win over Ararat-Armenia of Yerevan, while Plzeň are third from bottom after a 0-3 home defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise.

Source: sport.cz