JUVENTUS, BOURNEMOUTH SHINE AS CELTIC SUFFER ANOTHER EUROPEAN HUMILIATION

Juventus launched their Europa League campaign in emphatic fashion on Thursday, thrashing NEC Nijmegen 5-0 in Turin, while Bournemouth marked their first-ever European appearance with an impressive 2-1 victory away to Real Sociedad.

Crystal Palace also enjoyed a comfortable European night, defeating Lech Poznan 4-0, but Celtic endured another damaging setback after Ferencvaros stunned the Scottish champions 3-1 at Celtic Park.

Juventus, who would ordinarily expect to be competing among Europe’s elite in the Champions League, are using their Europa League campaign as an opportunity to end a three-decade wait for continental silverware after failing to qualify for the Champions League last season.

The Italian giants dominated from the outset against NEC, with Nico Gonzalez, Kerim Alajbegovic and Nick Woltemade putting Juventus 3-0 ahead before half-time.

Woltemade, who joined Juventus on loan from Newcastle, marked his arrival with his first goal for the club.

Zeki Celik and Randal Kolo Muani added further goals after the break to complete a commanding victory.

The result gave Juventus a stronger start than Italian rivals AC Milan, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Benfica in Wednesday’s standout Europa League fixture.

Bournemouth Make European History

Bournemouth enjoyed a dream start to their first-ever European campaign, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 in San Sebastian.

Justin Kluivert opened the scoring before Rayan headed home at the back post to give the Cherries a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Despite their recent struggles to protect leads, Bournemouth held firm to secure a memorable victory.

Manager Marco Rose had seen his side surrender advantages repeatedly in the Premier League, with Bournemouth taking the lead in all four of their league matches without recording a victory.

Real Sociedad pulled one back when Sergio Gomez's attempted cross flew into the far corner, but Bournemouth resisted late pressure to claim a historic European win.

Palace Cruise Past Lech Poznan

Conference League winners Crystal Palace continued their impressive European run with a commanding 4-0 victory over Lech Poznan at Selhurst Park.

The win maintained England's perfect start in Champions League and Europa League action this season, with Palace completing an eight-game winning sweep for English clubs.

Yeremy Pino capitalised on a disastrous Poznan throw-in to put Palace ahead before Chris Richards doubled the advantage.

Jørgen Strand Larsen converted a penalty to make it 3-0, while Eddie Nketiah completed the rout.

Celtic Suffer Another European Blow

Celtic's European troubles continued as Ferencvaros condemned the Scottish champions to a 3-1 home defeat.

The loss came only weeks after Celtic surrendered a four-goal advantage against Austrian side LASK and crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers.

Their latest setback also followed a humiliating 3-0 defeat to local rivals Rangers last weekend, piling further pressure on Martin O'Neill's side.

Daniel Arzani produced a stunning strike on his return to Celtic Park to seal a memorable night for Ferencvaros.

The visitors had earlier taken control through a Liam Scales own goal and a strike from Kristoffer Zachariassen.

Besiktas Thrash Marseille

Besiktas compounded Marseille's difficult start to the season with a 4-1 victory in Istanbul, handing the French side their fourth consecutive defeat.

Ilhan Fakili opened the scoring for the Turkish hosts before Keyliane Abdallah restored parity for Marseille.

But Besiktas took control after the break, with Vaclav Cerny, Micahel Amir Murillo and Ernest Poku all finding the net to complete a convincing victory.