Europa League: Lyon drops out of top 8 in the standings, Nice causes worry, Manchester United struggles to take off

While the French clubs had success in the Champions League evenings, the third matchday of the Europa League resembled a ‘black Thursday’, a term beloved by the After Foot on RMC. Early in the evening, OGC Nice delivered a worrying performance in Hungary with their defeat against Ferencvaros (1-0). Equally worrying is their position in the standings after three matchdays. The Eagles are placed 32nd out of 36 participating teams. This poor start is not irreversible for qualifying for the playoffs, the last qualifying spot, 24th occupied by AZ Alkmaar, is only two points away. However, the need for points is becoming urgent, starting with their upcoming match against FC Twente on November 7 (18:45).

Manchester United still unable to win in the Europa League

Meanwhile, Lyon had gathered 6 points in two matches with victories against Olympiacos (2-0) and Glasgow Rangers (4-1). This puts their loss this Thursday against Besiktas (0-1) into perspective, during a game that saw Pierre Sage’s men clearly dominate with thirty attempts on Ersin Destanoglu’s goal.

Despite this, Lyon drops out of the top 8 that directly qualifies for the Round of 16 and is now in the 10th spot. Manchester United was held to a draw by Fenerbahçe (1-1) and is still unable to secure a win in the Europa League. With only two points, the Red Devils sit in 21st place and are therefore virtual playoff contenders. Topping the standings are Lazio Rome, Tottenham, and Anderlecht, the three teams that have secured three victories.

Results of Europa League Matchday 3:

• Fenerbahçe (TUR) 1 – 1 Manchester United (ENG)
• Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 1 – 0 Slavia Prague (CZE)
• Anderlecht (BEL) 2 – 0 Ludogorets (BUL)
• FC Twente (NED) 0 – 2 Lazio Rome (ITA)
• Malmö (SWE) 0 – 1 Olympiakos (GRE)
• Lyon (FRA) 0 – 1 Besiktas (TUR)
• Qarabag (AZE) 0 – 3 Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
• Porto (POR) 2 – 0 Hoffenheim (GER)
• Glasgow Rangers (SCO) 4 – 0 Steaua Bucharest (ROU)
• Tottenham (ENG) 1 – 0 AZ Alkmaar (NED)
• PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE) 2 – 2 Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
• Ferencváros (HUN) 1 – 0 Nice (FRA)
• Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 1 – 0 FK RFS (LAT)
• AS Roma (ITA) 1 – 0 Dynamo Kiev (UKR)
• Midtjylland (DEN) 1 – 0 Union St-Gilloise (BEL)
• Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) 1 – 2 Real Sociedad (ESP)