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Bournemouth stays perfect in Europa League, AC Milan stunned at home, Leverkusen beaten by Marseille
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- Bournemouth stays perfect in Europa League, AC Milan stunned at home, Leverkusen beaten by Marseille
PRAGUE (AP) — Bournemouth came from behind to beat 10-man Sparta Prague 3-1 in the Europa League on Thursday and maintain a perfect record in its first European campaign.
Only two other clubs remained 100% halfway through the league phase. Benfica secured a 3-1 win over Lech Poznan, and Ferencváros pulled off a major upset by stunning AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro.
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A minute of silence was held at stadiums across Europe before the games to honor Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel , who died Tuesday after he suffered cardiac arrest following the on-field collision.
Seven straight wins for Bournemouth
Three substitutes helped the Cherries turn the game around at Sparta's Letná stadium.
United States midfielder Tyler Adams equalized for the Premier League side early in the second half with a strike from the edge of the area.
Brazil forward Evanilson fired Bournemouth ahead nine minutes from time with a low curling effort from the left in the area and Rayan's long-range drive finished the scoring in the final minute.
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Lewis Cook missed a scoring opportunity after half an hour when his shot from the spot hit the post.
Sparta replied five minutes later when Ebrima Singhateh finished his solo run from his own half by scoring past Michele Di Gregorio.
It was the first goal Bournemouth conceded after winning six straight games in all competitions with clean sheets.
Sparta's joy ended another three minutes later when defender Tobias Guddal received his second yellow card and was sent off.
AC Milan loses at home
After the visitors put Milan's defense under pressure in the first half, Lenny Joseph struck twice for them in a span of 14 minutes early after the break.
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The forward capitalized on a mistake by goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani to net the opener and added his second on fast counter amid Milan's effort to equalize.
Ruben Amorim's men failed to use a one-man advantage after Ferencváros substitute Bamidele Yusuf received a straight red in the 77th minute.
Milan remained on three points from four games.
In San Sebastian, Lyon earned a first point for a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in the first match after coach Paulo Fonseca left to join Sporting Lisbon. Jorge Maciel is in charge until the upcoming international break, pending the appointment of Fonseca's successor.
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Orri Óskarsson headed the hosts ahead, and veteran midfielder Corentin Tolisso netted the equalizer.
In Brussels, Anderlecht beat Salzburg 2-0 for its second win.
In London, Daichi Kamada scored in stoppage time for 10-man Crystal Palace to salvage a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim after Adam Wharton received his second yellow in the 77th. Alexander Prass had given the visitors an early lead.
Brothers square off
The game between AZ Alkmaar and Juventus pitted two Koopmeiners brothers against each other.
Of the two midfielders, the older one, Teun, held the upper hand.
He scored the opening goal for Juve against his former club, which is captained by his brother Peer.
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After a muted celebration, Randal Kolo Muani stretched the lead to two before Mexx Meerdink scored for Alkmaar late.
Elsewhere, Camilo Durán's two goals helped Celtic beat Besiktas 3-2 in Glasgow for its first three points.
Marseille managed the same by upsetting Leverkusen away 1-0. The Bundesliga team was the last one to concede a goal in the competition.
Sunderland, the bottom club in the Premier League, registered its first loss, 2-0 at home to Dinamo Zagreb.
Smoke from fireworks halts a Conference League match
A game between Swiss side Thun and Hearts in the Conference League had to be halted a minute after kickoff because of pyrotechnics launched by fans.
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The smoke that engulfed the stadium prevented the game from resuming for some eight minutes.
"Well, we did kick off, but the game was almost immediately stopped, due to smoke from pyrotechnic devices let off in the home end," Hearts said in a post on X. "Should be back underway in the next minute or so."
Some 2,000 Hearts fans were also at the stadium. Thun won 3-1.
Salah silent
Former Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was kept at bay by visiting Freiburg, which won 1-0 at Turkish side Trabzonspor in the third-tier competition. Salah scored in two previous wins for Trabzonspor.
Ajax routed Midtjylland away 6-1 and Atalanta was held 1-1 at home by Kairat Almaty.
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Later, Malick Yalcouye scored off the crossbar for Brighton to win 1-0 at Getafe. Monaco, boosted by adding U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, who was originally left out amid uncertainty over his future, beat Danish side Nordsjælland 2-0.
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