Tseyi Agharaye
Arsenal collapsed at Rennes in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, losing their first-leg match 3-1 in the last 16.
The Gunners took the lead, but the Ligue 1 side fought back to earn a significant advantage as the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the first half.
Chelsea made short work of Dynamo Kiev at Stamford Bridge, completing a 3-0 first-leg victory.
Napoli were also comfortable 3-0 winners against Red Bull Salzburg, and Valencia edged past an impressive Krasnodar 2-1.
Slavia Prague collected a 2-2 draw on the road, stunning La Liga outfit Sevilla.
However, there was better news for the Spanish contingent as Villarreal won 3-1 at Zenit St. Petersburg.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan played out a goalless draw during their first leg in Germany.
Thursday Results
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 Inter Milan
Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Benfica
Sevilla 2-2 Slavia Prague
Rennes 3-1 Arsenal
Zenit St. Petersburg 1-3 Villarreal
Chelsea 3-0 Dynamo Kiev
Napoli 3-0 Red Bull Salzburg
Valencia 2-1 Krasnodar
It started well for the Gunners during their trip to Rennes, but the night turned sour as they were reduced to 10 men.
Alex Iwobi’s cross beat goalkeeper Tomas Koubek and the visitors were in control after only three minutes.
However, the first half ended badly for the Premier League giants. Sokratis Papastathopoulos received his marching orders for a second yellow four minutes before the interval, and the hosts immediately capitalised with an equaliser from Benjamin Bourigeaud.
The Gunners could not move through the gears after losing a man, and Nacho Monreal scored an own goal to provide Rennes the lead after 65 minutes.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery made changes, substituting the disappointing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Rennes punished their opponents with a third from Ismaila Sarr with two minutes to spare.
Chelsea did not have to hit top gear as they entertained Kiev at the Bridge.
The visitors rarely threatened, allowing the Blues to claim an early lead through Pedro.
Chelsea had to wait until shortly after the hour mark to make it 2-0. Willian’s excellent free-kick convincingly found the corner of the net.
Callum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to wrap up the win in the 90th minute.
Napoli are joint-favourites to win the competition, and the Italians stormed to a 3-0 victory.
Goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Fabian made it 2-0 within the 17 minutes, and Jerome Onguene’s own goal settled the affair in the second half.
A quick-fire brace from Rodrigo gave Valencia control against Krasnodar at the Mestalla Stadium, but Viktor Claesson’s second-half goal gave the visitors a deserved reward after dominating long spells of the game.
A frantic first half saw four goals hit the back of the net as Sevilla drew 2-2 with Prague.
Wissam Ben Yedder’s excellent form continued when he broke the deadlock in the opening minute, but Miroslav Stoch stunned Sevilla fans with an equaliser after 25 minutes.
Sevilla only had to wait three minutes before reclaiming the lead when Munir El Haddadi volleyed home to make it 2-1. However, Alex Kral’s effort six minutes before half-time gave the visitors a vital share of the spoils.
Villarreal put one foot in the next round after a resounding 3-1 away win at Zenit. Vicente Iborra glanced home to give the La Liga side the lead after 33 minutes, but Sardar Azmoun tapped home to make it 1-1 moments later.
The second half belonged to the Yellow Submarine, scoring twice to take control of the tie. Goals from Gerard Moreno and Manu Morlanes made it a successful night for the travelling party.
Benfica failed to make an impression in Zagreb, losing 1-0 thanks to Bruno Petkovic’s first-half penalty.
The second leg of Europa league matches begin in a week time, it sure promises to be explosive as teams like Arsenal and Inter Milan would want to make use of their home advantage.
