AC Milan wins, Tottenham loses in Europa League

AC Milan cruised past Sparta Prague 3-0 for its second straight win in Europa League on Thursday, while Tottenham fell to a surprising 1-0 loss at newcomer Antwerp.

Milan easily overcame a missed penalty by Zlatan Ibrahimović to remain unbeaten in 23 games in all competitions, dating back to least season.

Tottenham saw its 10-match unbeaten run end, despite having Gareth Bale in starting lineup for a second straight time in competition.

Fellow Premier club Leicester captured its second straight win, 2-1 away at AEK Ans.

Also, Hoffenheim and Wolfsberg earned big away wins.

Arsenal, Benfica and Rangers were in action later Thursday.

TOTTENHAM TAMED

Antwerp took lead in 29th minute when Dieumerci Mbokani stole a sloppy pass from defender Ben Davis before passing to fellow forward Lior Refaelov to score winning goal.

Manr José Mourinho retained only two players in starting lineup from squad that beat Burnley 1-0 in Premier League on Monday. However, his lineup failed to impress and Mourinho made four substitutions at halftime in an attempt to turn things around. He didn't wait much longer before replacing Bale with striker Harry Kane in 58th, but Spurs never created serious chances to score an equalizer.

Also in Group J, LASK defeated Ludogorets 4-3.

MILAN MARCHES ON

Ibrahimović didn’t score but made his presence felt in first 45 minutes of game in Group H. 39-year-old veteran crossed for Brahim Díaz from right to net opening goal with a shot between legs of Sparta goalkeeper Milan Heca in 24th minute.

Ibrahimović, who contracted coronavirus last month but has scored four goals in three matches since his return, wasted a golden opportunity to add ar later in first half.

After he was fouled in area, Ibrahimović hit crossbar from penalty spot in 36th.

He was replaced by Rafael Leão for second half, and substitute made it 2-0 from close range after he was set up by a precise cross from Diogo Dalot.

Dalot added third after a solo run in 67th.

Celtic wasted a 2-0 first half lead after a couple of goals from Mohamed Elyouuss to settle for a 2-2 draw at Lille for its first point.

OR GROUPS

Jamie Vardy put Leicester ahead in Ans after earning and converting a penalty in 18th minute. An unmarked Hamza Choudhury made it 2-0 for Brendan Rodgers’s team before substitute Muamer Tankovic pulled one back for AEK in 49th. In or Group G game, Braga won 2-1 away at Zorya Luhansk.

Villarreal went a goal down at Qarabağ in 78th minute before coming back for a 3-1 victory in Group I, where Maccabi Tel-Aviv also won 2-1 away at Sivasspor.

Wolfsberg has a perfect record in Group K after winning 4-1 at Feyeord, with Michael Liendl scoring a hat trick. His first two goals came from penalties.

CSKA Moscow played to a 0-0 draw with Dinamo Zagreb.

Hoffenheim overcame a couple of coronavirus cases to beat Gent 4-1 away in Group L. Red Star Belgrade outplayed Czech club Liberec 5-1.

Im credits: AP