Russia Shines In Europa League 2017-18 Groups F & L

European football had some eye-catching performances by teams from Russia in Moscow and St. Petersburg on September 28, as part of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Europa League 2017-18 season.

Moscow’s Lokomotiv football team outpaced Fashtau Zlín from the Czech Republic by 3-0, in what was the second group stage match of the Europa League, reaffirming Lokomotiv’s first position in Group F. The game was played in Moscow.

All three goals scored by Lokomotiv's Portuguese player Manuel Fernandes were within fifteen minutes and in the first half of the game. They proved to be the fastest hat-trick in the history of the Europa League. Thus far in the UEFA Europe League 2017-18 championships Lokomotiv has a total of four points, ahead of Denmark’s København and Moldova’s Sheriff, each with two points. Zlin has only one point, gained in two matches.

The Saint Petersburg-based team Zenith scored three goals against Spain’s Real Sociedad at the Zenith Arena on Thursday night, to win its game 3-1 in what was the second match of the Group L. With this second consecutive victory, Zenith is the Group L leader with six points. Real Sociedad and Norway’s Rosenborg are in second and third places, respectively, with three points each. Vardar from Macedonia closes the group ranking.

Kazakhstan’s club Astana played 1-1 draw with Czech rival Slavia Praha at Astana Arena. One point grabbed from Slavia Praha has put Astana in the third position in Group A, where the Czech club shares group leadership with Spain’s Villarreal, having four points each. The group outsider appears to be the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv, with one point.

The UEFA Europa League 2017-18 season final match will be held on May 16, 2018, at the stadium Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France.