Europa League Review: Ajax and Fenerbahce crash out as Sigurdsson thrills

Dom Farrell

Europa League Review: Ajax and Fenerbahce crash out as Sigurdsson thrills image

Last season's beaten finalists Ajax have been dumped out of the Europa League by Rosenborg after a late brace from super-sub Samuel Adegbenro sealed a pulsating 3-2 win.

The Norwegian club took a 1-0 advantage into the home leg of their play-off clash thanks to recent signing Adegbenro also being on target in Amsterdam.

Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner doubled the advantage for Kare Ingebrigtsen's men when he headed home at the far post in the 26th minute.

Ajax appeared to be heading through on the away goals rule when Amin Younes and Lasse Schone struck within a minute of one another as the game ticked past the hour but Adegbenro had other ideas.

The 21-year-old Nigerian pulled Rosenborg level on the night with 10 minutes to play and put the tie to bed as he surged through a beleaguered Ajax defence a minute from time to net a stunning solo effort.

He was outdone when it came to the goal of the night, however, as Gylfi Sigurdsson marked his full Everton debut by volleying home improbably from 50 yards at Hajduk Split.

Toffees 16/1 to win EL

That ensured a 1-1 scoreline on the night, following Josip Radosevic's excellent first-half opener, and a 3-1 aggregate triumph for the Premier League side.

AC Milan youngster Patrick Cutrone continued his stellar start to the season by scoring after 13 minutes against Shkendija, although there would be no repeat of last week's 6-0 hammering as the Macedonian side fell 1-0 on the night to close out a 7-0 aggregate defeat.

Shkendija's compatriots Vardar claimed a stunning upset as they won 2-1 in Turkey to dispatch Fenerbahce 4-1.

Roman Neustadter gave Fener hope in the 61st minute but Jaba Jigauri reasserted Vardar's control seven minutes later and substitute Nikola Gligorov completed a memorable triumph with a breakaway goal in stoppage time.

Former Monaco forward Valerie Germain notched a brace as Marseille made light of a their first-leg struggles in a 1-1 draw against Domzale with a 3-0 victory that was crowned by Florian Thauvin's overhead kick.

Athletic Bilbao made sure of progress against Panathinaikos as Iker Muniain slid in to crown a wonderful team move midway through the first half – the only goal at San Mames as Jose Angel Ziganda's men prevailed 4-2 overall.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.