Europa League round-up: Crowd trouble at Lyon takes centre stage as first legs are played out
Ajax and Celta Vigo both take advantages into next week's fixtures too
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Your support makes all the difference.Away from Manchester United’s disappointing late draw with Anderlecht in Belgium the headline of the night in the Europa League came from Lyon, as the Ligue 1 side’s game with Besiktas was delayed due to crowd trouble.
The sets of fans clashed as projectiles and firecrackers were thrown from the upper tiers onto the lower tiers causing fans to run onto the pitch to shelter from the missiles.
When the game finally got underway – 45 minutes late – former Liverpool striker Ryan Babel gave Besiktas the lead in the 15th minute before Corentin Tolisso levelled things up in the 83rd minute.
And, a minute later, Jeremy Morel turned the score on its head to give Lyon a 2-1 advantage to take to Istanbul.
Elsewhere Ajax ran away 2-0 winners against Schalke at the Amsterdam Arena thanks to two goals from captain Davy Klaassen.
The first came from the penalty spot as the Dutchman scored in each half, leaving Ajax’s German opponents with an uphill battle next week.
And in the final game of the night, there is all to play for in the second leg as Celta Vigo won 3-2 against Genk in Spain.
Genk took the lead in the 10th minute through Jean-Paul Boetius but found themselves behind seven minutes later after goals from Pione Sisto and Iago Aspas.
John Guidetti grabbed a third for Celta before half-time but Thomas Buffel's 67th-minute header changed the complexion of the contest as Genk go back to Belgium for next week’s second leg with two important away goals.
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