The key facts
- Bayer — 9 points, three straight wins; Juventus, Sunderland and Union — 7 points each
- Luccumi's 88th-minute goal ruled out by VAR due to a marginal offside
- Salah scored a penalty for Trabzonspor in the Conference League
Bayer keep winning
Bayer claimed their third straight Europa League win, beating OFI Crete 2-0 away thanks to a brace from Jonas Hofmann. With 9 points, the German club top the standings after the third matchday.
Decisive VAR in Turin
Juventus let victory over French side Rennes slip away. Zeki Celik opened the scoring in the 5th minute, but ten minutes later Musa Al-Tamari equalised after a poor clearance. Before the break Boulaye Dia put the visitors ahead. Juve fought back via a penalty awarded for handball — converted by Nick Woltemade. However, the key moment of the match came in the 88th minute: VAR ruled out Jonathan Luccumi's strike due to what AFP described as a marginal offside.
Sunderland fail to hold on in Poznan
Sunderland, in their new all-pink kit, drew 1:1 in Poland. The Black Cats went ahead as early as the 2nd minute thanks to a goal from Timur Tutyerov, dominated the game, but could not see the match out for a win. Nevertheless, AFP notes, with two home matches remaining, qualification for the second round is still within reach for Regis Le Bris's side.
Other results
Ferencvaros thrashed Portuguese side Torreense 4:1 and caught up with Bayer on points (9). Union Saint-Gilloise beat Israeli side Hapoel from Beersheba 4:0. Union, Sunderland and Juventus all have 7 points after three matches.
Conference League
In the Conference League, former Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah opened the scoring from the penalty spot in Trabzonspor's match against Scottish side Hearts, which the Turkish club won 2:0.