Olympiacos has kept their European momentum intact with a key triumph in Sweden against Malmö, building upon their last game to occupy a good position in the League Phase standings.

The Piraeus club secured an important 0-1 away win over Malmö on Friday morning (AEDT) in the UEFA Europa League’s third matchday of the League Phase, putting them in 12th place (out of 36 teams) with six points accumulated.

The “red-whites” scored the contest’s lone goal in the 30th minute, courtesy of a counter attack started by winger Gelson Martins and polished off by marksman Ayoub El Kaabi into the bottom right.

El Kaabi’s effort was the only thing to split the two sides and propelled Olympiacos to another valuable victory in the competition, putting them in good stead.

A spirited comeback from PAOK helped them get off the mark in the UEL’s League phase, drawing 2-2 against Viktoria Plzen at “Toumba'” Stadium to earn their first point.

The Thessaloniki giants dominated the possession in the first half, though it was the visitors that seized control as they scored twice.

The first came in the 31st minute when a cross into the box was headed onto Milan Havel, with the wing back finding the back of the net in what was originally called offside before VAR intervened and awarded the goal.

The Czech side then doubled their advantage eight minutes later when goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski parried a shot into the path of striker Matej Vydra, who then tapped the ball in from close range.

The game took an interesting turn in the 70th minute when the visitors went down to ten men due to centre half Samson Bweh Jr receiving a second yellow.

The Thessaloniki giants capitalised on the advantage as they halved the deficit through a headed goal by striker Tarik Tissoudali (84′) before drawing level in the dying minutes of the contest through left back Baba Rahman’s close-range header (90+3′).

The goal was pivotal in helping PAOK avoid a third straight UEL defeat, establishing a base to build on in their remaining European games.

Panathinaikos was outclassed by Chelsea FC in a heavy 1-4 away defeat at Athen’s Olympic Stadium in the second matchday of the UEFA Conference League (UECL), keeping them at one point earned from their first two games.

The Greens put a strong fight in the opening half, though ultimately fell behind in the 22nd minute when Blues winger Mykhailo Mudryk found playmaker Joao Felix in the box, who then struck it in for an easy finish.

Chelsea’s quality shone through further in the second period as they found three goals before the hour mark, courtesy of a header by Mudryk (48′), a deflected long shot from Felix (55′) and then a penalty strike via forward Christopher Nkunku (59′).

The “Trifylli” got one back in the 69th minute after winger Facundo Pellistri tapped in wing back Georgios Vagiannidis’ pass across goal, providing a small consolation for the home faithful.

Panathinaikos will be hopeful of going on a strong run in their subsequent European fixtures now that they have wrapped up their hardest match in the League Phase.

Omonia failed to earn back-to-back UECL wins as they fell 0-2 away against Hearts of Midlothian.

The Scottish outfit opened the scoring in the 16th minute through a powerful strike from winger Alan Forrest into the top left, and they soon made it two via striker Blair Spittal’s effort into the top right (23′).

Their first half effort proved enough to secure the points with the Cypriot side unable to penetrate their opponents’ defence.

APOEL suffered a disappointing 0-1 home loss to FK Borac Banja Luka to remain on one point from their two League Phase outings.

The Bosnian side broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute after midfielder Stefan Savic’s free kick from the left flank curled into the box and was left untouched on its way into the goal (63′).

Paphos was unable to grab a result against Heidenheim as they suffered a tight 0-1 defeat at home, ensuring they remain on three points.

The German outfit found what proved to be the winning goal in the 25th minute of the clash, thanks to defender Patrick Mainka and his important touch of the ball wherein he directed teammate Sirlord Conteh’s cross on the volley into the net.

Paphos will count themselves unlucky as they had the lion’s share of possession and created chances of their own, though they will be optimistic in earning better results in their remaining games.