Hajduk Split Beat Ajax 2-1 in Conference League Opener as Atalanta, Monaco and Freiburg Win
Hajduk Split beat Ajax 2-1 in one of the notable results of Conference League matchday 1, played on Thursday, October 15. Atalanta, Copenhagen, Freiburg, Monaco and Trabzonspor also won. The night produced 53 goals in 18 matches.
Hajduk Split 2-1 Ajax. The Croatian side returned to a UEFA league phase for the first time in 16 years. Marin Šotiček set up Abdoulie Sanyang for the opener in the 37th minute. Davy Klaassen levelled for Ajax in the 53rd. Šotiček then scored the winner in the 56th. Ajax are four-time European champions.
Atalanta 3-1 Pafos. Maurizio Sarri's side opened their league phase with a comfortable win in Bergamo. Atalanta are the highest-ranked side in this year's competition. They reached the league phase by beating Hapoel Tel Aviv in the play-offs. Vlad Dragomir played the full match for Pafos.
Copenhagen 3-0 Braga. The game was goalless at half-time. Mohamed Elyounoussi broke the deadlock in the 50th minute. Andreas Cornelius then scored twice, in the 79th and 86th minutes. It was Copenhagen's first win over a Portuguese club. They had drawn three and lost three before. Copenhagen had lost 2-1 at Midtjylland at the weekend. They have now won every home match this season.
Freiburg 3-2 Jablonec. Vincenzo Grifo put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute. Antonín Rusek levelled for the Czech side in the 28th. Freiburg went in front again through an own goal by Dušan Pavlović in the 53rd. Maximilian Eggestein made it 3-1 in the 65th. Jablonec scored once more but could not find an equaliser. Freiburg lost the Europa League final to Aston Villa last season. They came into this match as Bundesliga leaders. It was their first Conference League league-phase game.
CSKA Sofia 1-2 Monaco. Paris Brunner scored in the 3rd minute and set up Ansu Fati's goal in the 43rd. Joël Zwarts pulled one back for CSKA in the 76th. Monaco are coached by Filipe Luís. They lead Ligue 1. They host Freiburg on October 22.
KuPS 2-4 Trabzonspor. The match was played at Tammelan Stadion in Tampere. Paul Onuachu scored in the 3rd minute. Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 in the 44th. Franculino scored twice, in the 47th and 91st minutes. Petteri Pennanen and Gustav Engvall scored for KuPS. Salah also had an assist. His goal was his 65th in UEFA club competition. Trabzonspor are in the Conference League after losing to Ferencváros in Europa League qualifying.