Lenny Joseph scored twice as Ferencvaros beat AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro on 5 November, leaving the hosts 28th of 36 at the halfway stage of the Europa League league phase.
The first goal came after Milan goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani misplaced a pass, allowing Joseph to roll the ball into an empty net.
Ferencvaros lost substitute Bamidele Yusuf to a red card in the 77th minute, but the 10 men held out for the rest of the match and kept a clean sheet.
- 52 minJoseph scores
The Ferencvaros forward capitalises on Torriani's misplaced pass.
- 66 minJoseph again
A second goal for the visitors, 14 minutes after the first.
- 77 minYusuf sent off
The Ferencvaros substitute goes, and his side hold on with 10 men.
It was Milan's third defeat in four European matches this season, leaving them outside the play-off places with three points from four games.
Ferencvaros, by contrast, have won all four of their matches in Europe, and their 12 points put them third, level with Benfica and Bournemouth.
The top eight in the table go straight to the 8th finals, while positions nine to 24 go to the play-off. Milan are outside both cut-offs.
The table at halfway
| Team | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Benfica | 1st | 12 |
| Bournemouth | 2nd | 12 |
| Ferencvaros | 3rd | 12 |
| AC Milan | 28th | 3 |
Benfica lead on goal difference after beating Lech Poznan 3-1 at home, with Rafa Silva, Gianluca Prestianni and Georgiy Sudakov scoring.
Bournemouth, who also have 12 points, overturned a deficit to beat 10-man Sparta Prague 3-1, with Tyler Adams, Evanilson and Rayan scoring.
Milan and Ferencvaros at the halfway point
AC Milan
Seven-time European champions
3 points
- 28th of 36 at halfway
- Three defeats in four European matches
- Outside the play-off places
Ferencvaros
Managed by Balazs Borbely
12 points
- Third in the table
- Four wins from four
- Level with Benfica and Bournemouth
Amorim says Milan were not prepared
Milan coach Ruben Amorim said he wouldn't give up on the competition while his side were not mathematically out of it.
I won’t give up on this competition. As long as we’re not mathematically out of it, we’ll keep fighting in this competition, just as we do in the others,
His side gifted opportunities and made stupid errors, he said, and were not prepared to play football.
I don’t want to lie to my players. We cannot play like this in front of our own fans. It was a very poor performance.
The player ratings told the same story.
Half-time changes fail to lift Milan
Torriani, Terracciano, De Winter, Diawara, Bartesaghi, Hutchinson, Jashari, Musah, Cisse, Rabiot and Goncalo Ramos made up Amorim's starting eleven.
At half-time, he made three substitutions: Mario Gila for Diawara, Christian Pulisic for Cisse and Diego Moreira for Musah.
Luka Modric came on for Jashari in the 63rd minute, with Francesco Camarda replacing Bartesaghi on 67.
De Winter was booked in the 51st minute and Cisse in the 32nd.
Managed by Balazs Borbely, Ferencvaros are led by Joseph, whose double settled the match; he is a Haiti international.
Leverkusen lose their first points
Bayer Leverkusen lost their first points, going down 1-0 at home to Marseille, who had lost their first three matches.
Crystal Palace drew 1-1 at home with Hoffenheim, with Daichi Kamada levelling in stoppage time after Alexander Prass gave Hoffenheim an early lead.
Palace have five points from four Europa League outings, but lost Adam Wharton to a second yellow card.
Sunderland's unbeaten Europa League start ended with a 2-0 home loss to Dinamo Zagreb. Regis Le Bris said his side were unlucky, having created many chances.
We are unlucky because we created many chances but it wasn’t enough but sometimes it’s like this,
Celtic won their first points with a 3-2 win over Besiktas, thanks to Camilo Duran, who came off the bench to score twice.
Juventus lifted their tally to 10 points with a 2-1 win at AZ Alkmaar, Teun Koopmeiners and Randal Kolo Muani scoring.
Bournemouth manager Marco Rose said the run was a big achievement, but his side must stay alert and sharp.
It’s a big achievement and we have to continue, we need to stay alert, sharp,
What we know
- Milan are 28th of 36 with three points from four games at the halfway stage.
- Ferencvaros have 12 points from four wins and are level with Benfica and Bournemouth.
- The top eight go to the 8th finals and positions nine to 24 go to the play-off.
Still unclear
- Whether Milan can still reach the play-off places.
- The date of Milan's next Europa League fixture.
- The date of Ferencvaros's next Europa League fixture.
