Europa League: Spurs, Red Devils, 'Gers, Ajax, Yellow Submarine, Roma, Dinamo Zagreb, Olympiacos Grab Series-Opening Wins As Round Of 32 Commences

 16 games were contested on Thursday as the knockout stage of the Europa League commenced.

At Budapest, Hungary (due to COVID-19 restrictions in Austria on travelers from Britain):

In their series-opening contest, Son Heung-min (13'), Gareth Bale (28'), Lucas Moura (34'), and Carlos Vinicius (88') each scored once as Tottenham Hotspur dominated Austria's Wolfsberger AC 4-1.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Brandon Mechele's equalizer in the 67th minute lifted Club Brugge to a series-opening 1-1 road draw with Dynamo Kiev.

Vitaliy Buyalskyi scored for the hosts in the 67th minute.

At Turin, Italy (due to COVID-19 restrictions in Spain on travelers from Britain):

Bruno Fernandes scored twice (27', 57') as Manchester United demolished Real Sociedad 4-0 in their series opener.

At Rome (due to COVID-19 restrictions in Portugal on travelers from Britain):

Bukayo Saka's game-tying goal at 57 minute lifted Arsenal to a game-one 1-1 draw with SL Benfica.

Pizzi converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute for the Eagles' goal.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Guelor Kanga (PK-52') and Milan Pavkov (90'+3) each scored once as Red Star Belgrade gained a series-opening 2-2 home draw with AC Milan.

Radovan Pankov (OG-42') and Theo Hernandez (PK-61') produced the scoring for the Rossoneri.

At Antwerp, Belgium:

Borna Barisic scored twice (PK-59', PK-90') as Rangers upended hosts Antwerp in game one of their two-match series.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

The series opener between Slavia Prague and visiting Leicester City ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:

Paco Alcacer (41') and Fer Nino (71') each scored once as Villarreal blanked FC Red Bull Salzburg 2-0 in their series opener.

At Braga, Portugal:

Edin Dzeko (5') and Borja Mayoral (86') each scored once as AS Roma blanked SC Braga 2-0 in game one.

At Krasnodar, Russia:

Bruno Petkovic scored twice (15', 54') while Iyayi Atiemwen scored the game winner in the 75th minute as Dinamo Zagreb knocked off FC Krasnodar 3-2 in their series-opening match.

At Bern, Switzerland:

Theoson-Jordan Siebachtcheu scored twice (19', 89') to help carry BSC Young Boys past visiting Bayer Leverkusen 4-3 in their series-opening game.

At Villarreal, Spain (due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions in Norway):

Martin Ellingsen (41'), Eirik Andersen (70'), and David Fofana (74') each scored once as Molde, who twice trailed by two goals, gained a series-opening 3-3 deadlock with 1899 Hoffenheim.

Mu'nas Dabbur scored twice (8', 28') and Christoph Baumgartner (45'+3) once for the German club.

At Granada, Spain:

Yangel Herrera (19') and Robert Kenedy (21') each scored a goal two minutes apart as Granada blanked visiting Napoli 2-0 in their series opener.

At Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France:

Dusan Tadic (PK-87') and Brian Brobbey (89') each scored once in the waning minutes as Ajax battled back to top Lille 2-1 on the road in their series opener.

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Alan Patrick (31') and Tete (90'+3) each scored once as Shakhtar Donetsk blanked Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on the road in game one.

At Piraeus, Greece:

Youssef El-Arabi scored the game winner in the second minute of first-half stoppage time as Olympiacos doubled up visiting PSV Eindhoven 4-2 in their series-opening contest.