The UEFA Conference League got underway with the first matchday of the league phase. All but one match featured goals in an action-packed evening. Here is one stat from each of the fixtures
Lech, Zrinjski post big wins
17 - Despite going down to 10 men, Crystal Palace keep their undefeated streak going. The European debutants topped Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 in Poland with a goal in both halves. The Ukrainians have always had a tough time versus English opposition, with Thursday's loss being their 17th versus Premier League teams.
10 - Jagiellonia Bialystok, coming off of a quarter-final showing in the Conference League last term, picked up where they left off. Just one goal was required in their 1-0 defeat of Malta's Hamrun Spartans. The Ekstraklasa club have not lost any of their 10 UECL home games all-time, qualifiers included (7-3-0).
5 - KuPS and Drita played out a 1-1 stalemate in a battle featuring teams making their group phase bow. The goals came in a six-minute period in the latter stages of the second half. The defending champions of Kosovo have now scored in their last five European matches, their longest run.
21 - Lausanne-Sport had an excellent performance at home in a 3-0 win over Iceland's Breidablik. It only took them 33 minutes to score the three goals as they got off to the perfect start. Breidablik are still looking for their first positive result in the UECL proper, with this being their seventh loss. They conceded a total of 21 goals across those defeats.
4 - Lech Poznan did not disappoint in their opening match, earning a statement 4-1 success over last season's quarter-finalists Rapid Wien. Having taken double the shots to their Austrian opponents, Lech won by the same scoreline as they did over Austria Wien three years ago. For Rapid, it was the first time in four years that they have lost consecutive European games.
6 - Noah made the most of their man advantage against Rijeka, beating the Croatian outfit 1-0. Nardin Mulahusejnovic got the game's only goal six minutes in as the Armenian champions played the final hour of the contest up a man. It was the sixth time in 13 group phase games where Rijeka failed to score.
8 - Rayo Vallecano's second continental campaign went off to the ideal start in a 2-0 victory over North Macedonia's Shkendija. The match saw its key moments shortly before - and after - the 30-minute mark. That was where the Spaniards did their damage. They remain unbeaten across eight continental home games in the club's history. (7-1-0).
23 - Zrinjski Mostar find themselves at the top of the bunch in the Conference League after one round thanks to their 5-0 win over Lincoln Red Imps. Five different players got their names on the scoresheet in what was a top performance from the Bosnians. Lincoln have now conceded 23 goals in their European campaign in just nine matches.
11 - Mainz left it late, but managed to sneak past Omonoia Nicosia 1-0 in the Cypriot capital. A Nadiem Amiri penalty in the 75th minute ultimately separated the two clubs. It is yet another defeat for Omonoia, who are coming off their best-ever European campaign in 2024/25; it was the 11th group phase match all-time in which they could not score.
AZ suffer shock in Cyprus
14 - AEK Larnaca pulled off the first major shock in this season's UEFA Conference League, scoring four in a standout 4-0 win against AZ Alkmaar. A red card less than two minutes in for the visitors proved costly as they could not keep up with their Cypriot opponents. AEK prevail at home in a European group phase match for the first time in 14 years.
3 - It was a back-and-forth encounter between two former winners on the continental scene, as Shakhtar Donetsk edged Aberdeen 3-2 at Pittodrie. Despite conceding first, the Pitmen recovered, scoring thrice before holding on for the final half an hour. They now have three victories over Scottish opponents (3-2-2).
19 - Legia Warsaw were the only Polish team who did not win on Thursday night as they suffered an unexpected 1-0 reverse at home to first-timers Samsunspor. Anthony Musaba made history for his team with his 10th-minute marker. The Polish Cup holders had 19 attempts, more than triple that of their Turkish opponents, but still could not find a way through.
16 - Celje are starting to make a name for themselves in the UECL. The Slovenian club overcame an early deficit to get the better of AEK Athens 3-1 at home. Franko Kovacevic fired in a hat-trick to give his side the perfect start to their second straight Conference League appearance. They made it 16 consecutive games in which they have scored in Europe.
65 - The only game without goals came in Ireland, as Shelbourne and Hacken had to make do with a point each. The League of Ireland team, playing their maiden group phase game, were the happier of the two sides at the end. After all, Hacken had 65% of the ball and carried much of the game. In the end, that was not enough for the full complement of points.
13 - Two-time finalists Fiorentina kicked things off with a 2-0 defeat of Sigma Olomouc, scoring once in each half. The Czech side have now lost their third continental match against Italian teams. Meanwhile, La Viola are undefeated in their last 13 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the UECL proper (9-4-0).
7 - Rakow got the job done in their first match in the Conference League main rounds, topping Romania's CS Universitatea Craiova 2-0. The visitors went down a man shortly after the restart, which made things more difficult for themselves. As a result, their seven-match scoring streak in Europe has come to an end.
12 - Strasbourg are victorious to commence their opening UECL campaign. A pair of first-half goals 15 minutes apart saw them past Slovan Bratislava 2-1 on the road. The Ligue 1 outfit held on in the second half. Despite amassing 22 shots, Slovan suffered a 12th consecutive defeat in the main rounds of a UEFA club competition.
1 - Sparta Prague had the most impressive showing in the late games, pulling off a 4-1 win at the expense of Shamrock Rovers. The Czechs got two goals in both halves to secure the win. The guests were under pressure for the whole 90 minutes, with their marker coming off what was their only shot on target.