Milan 0–2 Benfica · Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar · Anderlecht 1–2 Lyon · Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha · Omonia 1–0 Celta · Leverkusen 2–0 Celje · Hapoel Beer-Sheva 0–0 GNK Dinamo · Olympiacos 2–1 Jagiellonia · Sturm Graz 0–0 Rennes
By Open Chronicle Sports
The Europa League returned with exactly the kind of opening night its expanded league phase is designed to produce: a heavyweight victory in Milan, an emotional European comeback in Sunderland, away wins with early significance and reminders that reputation alone offers little protection in a competition stretching across the continent.
Nine matches opened the 2026/27 league phase on Wednesday, producing six victories and three draws. Benfica supplied the headline result by beating Milan 2–0 at San Siro, while Sunderland celebrated their first European appearance in 53 years by defeating AZ Alkmaar 1–0. Lyon also made a strong start with a 2–1 victory away to Anderlecht.
The significance goes beyond one night. Under the 36-team league-phase format, every club plays eight different opponents, meaning there is little room for prolonged recovery from a poor start. The first three points can therefore immediately change the shape of a campaign.
Milan 0–2 Benfica — a statement night at San Siro
No result carried more weight than Benfica’s victory in Milan.
Winning away against another Pot 1 club gave the Portuguese side precisely the start it wanted from what could have been one of the most difficult fixtures on its eight-match schedule. UEFA described Benfica’s performance as an impressive opening victory, with the Portuguese club leaving San Siro with all three points.
For Benfica, the importance is both immediate and strategic. Three away points against Milan reduce the pressure attached to the home fixtures that follow and provide an early platform in a format where the final league position determines direct qualification, play-off participation or elimination.
The schedule now offers another major occasion: Benfica’s second league-phase game is at home against Celtic on 15 October. Milan, meanwhile, travel to Salzburg.
For the Portuguese campaign in Europe, it is also an important result. Benfica did not merely survive one of its most imposing assignments; it left Italy with a clean sheet and maximum points.
Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar — Europe returns to Wearside
If Benfica produced the night’s biggest away result, Sunderland supplied its most evocative story.
European football returned to Sunderland after a 53-year absence, and the Premier League club marked the occasion with a 1–0 victory over AZ Alkmaar. UEFA itself highlighted Sunderland’s successful return as one of the defining stories of the opening night.
The result is particularly valuable because AZ entered the league phase as a Pot 1 club, while Sunderland were placed in Pot 3.
Sunderland’s next European assignment provides another intriguing connection to Open Chronicle’s Portuguese coverage: on 15 October they travel to face Torreense. After that come Lech Poznań, GNK Dinamo, Jagiellonia, Milan, Anderlecht and Levski Sofia.
One match cannot define a European campaign, but after more than half a century away, Sunderland could hardly have asked for a more effective return.
Anderlecht 1–2 Lyon — experience travels well
Lyon were another of Wednesday’s important away winners.
A 2–1 victory in Brussels immediately gives the French side three points before a home meeting with Crystal Palace on Matchday 2. Anderlecht, by contrast, must respond away against GNK Dinamo.
It was another example of a broader theme from the first evening: several established European clubs were able to translate their experience into immediate results away from home.
Benfica won in Milan. Lyon won in Brussels. Sparta Praha travelled to Armenia and scored four.
Those results could matter considerably once the 36 clubs begin to compress into a single league table.
Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha — the night’s biggest victory
Sparta Praha produced Wednesday’s most emphatic scoreline.
The Czech side beat Ararat-Armenia 4–1 away from home, giving Sparta not only three points but an immediate goal-difference advantage.
That secondary benefit should not be ignored in the league-phase system. With 36 clubs competing in one standings table but playing only eight matches each, teams can finish level on points and require tiebreakers to separate them.
Sparta’s next match is at home against Lillestrøm on 15 October, before a trip to Olympiacos. Ararat-Armenia next travel to Jagiellonia.
Omonia 1–0 Celta — an early warning about this competition
Celta’s trip to Cyprus demonstrated one of the fundamental dangers of the Europa League.
Omonia won 1–0, collecting three points against a Spanish opponent that had been placed in Pot 3 alongside the Cypriot club.
It leaves Celta facing an immediately demanding Matchday 2: Juventus visit Spain on 15 October.
Omonia travel to Celje before later facing Benfica, N.E.C., Juventus and Celtic among their remaining opponents.
The result is a reminder that the league phase does not allow clubs to treat supposedly less glamorous away trips as routine assignments.
Leverkusen 2–0 Celje — controlled opening for the German side
Leverkusen began with the kind of result expected from one of the competition’s highest-seeded clubs: a 2–0 home victory over Celje.
The German club were placed in Pot 1 and entered the competition with substantial recent Europa League pedigree, having reached the final in 2024.
Three points and a clean sheet represent an efficient opening before Leverkusen travel to Lech Poznań on Matchday 2.
For Celje, the next opportunity comes at home against Omonia.
Olympiacos 2–1 Jagiellonia — home advantage converted
Olympiacos also did what strong European campaigns frequently require: win the opening home fixture.
The Greek side defeated Jagiellonia 2–1 and begins the league phase with three points.
The road becomes more difficult from here. Matchday 2 takes Olympiacos to Marseille before subsequent games against Sparta Praha and Rennes.
Jagiellonia, meanwhile, will have an immediate chance to respond when Ararat-Armenia visit Poland on 15 October.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva 0–0 GNK Dinamo — points shared
Not every opening fixture produced a breakthrough.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva and GNK Dinamo finished 0–0, leaving both clubs with a point from their first match.
The result places greater importance on their second fixtures. Dinamo host Anderlecht next month, while Hapoel travel to AZ Alkmaar.
In an eight-match league phase, draws are far from disastrous, but repeated stalemates can quickly leave a club chasing victories as the competition develops.
Sturm Graz 0–0 Rennes — another cautious beginning
The other goalless draw came in Austria, where Sturm Graz and Rennes shared the points.
Rennes return home to face OFI Crete on Matchday 2. Sturm travel to Bournemouth.
Neither side suffered serious damage, but both missed the opportunity to establish an early three-point cushion before the difficulty of their schedules increases.
What the opening night tells us
Nine games are far too few to define a competition involving 36 clubs and eight league-phase rounds, but Wednesday already produced several meaningful signals.
Benfica have bought themselves room. Winning at Milan transforms one of their theoretically hardest fixtures into three points.
Sunderland’s return is more than a nostalgic story. Beating AZ means their first European night in 53 years also produced a competitively valuable result.
Away wins matter. Benfica, Lyon and Sparta Praha all collected maximum points outside their own stadiums.
Goal difference could eventually become important. Sparta’s four goals and Benfica’s two-goal victory without conceding provide useful early margins.
And perhaps most importantly, the league phase punishes assumptions. Celta’s defeat in Cyprus demonstrated how quickly a European campaign can become complicated.
The first night produced 22 goals across nine matches, an average of 2.44 per game, with six teams taking maximum points and three matches ending level.
Wednesday’s complete results
- Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha
- Omonia 1–0 Celta
- Milan 0–2 Benfica
- Leverkusen 2–0 Celje
- Hapoel Beer-Sheva 0–0 GNK Dinamo
- Olympiacos 2–1 Jagiellonia
- Anderlecht 1–2 Lyon
- Sturm Graz 0–0 Rennes
- Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar
Thursday completes Matchday 1
The opening round is only halfway finished. Nine more matches are scheduled for Thursday 17 September: OFI Crete–Hoffenheim and Levski Sofia–Salzburg in the early window, followed by Beşiktaş–Marseille, Celtic–Ferencváros, Crystal Palace–Lech Poznań, Viktoria Plzeň–Union SG, Juventus–N.E.C., Lillestrøm–Torreense and Real Sociedad–Bournemouth.
For Portuguese football, attention now moves from Benfica to Torreense, who begin their league-phase campaign in Norway against Lillestrøm.
After one night, Benfica already have their first major European result of the season. By the end of Thursday, all 36 clubs will have entered the race.