MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United secured its first win in Europe for more than a year by beating PAOK 2-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Two second-half goals from Amad Diallo sealed the victory at Old Trafford and boosted United’s hopes of progressing in the competition, while Tottenham’s 100% start was ended by a 3-2 loss at Galatasaray.
United’s last win in Europe was against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Oct. 24 last year.
“We addressed that in the dressing room and it was time to change that, so we did,” United interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy said.
Diallo’s looping header beat PAOK goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski in the 50th minute and he followed that up with a deflected shot from outside the area that nestled into the bottom corner in the 77th.
It’s two wins from three games for United under Van Nistelrooy, who has one more match — against Leicester on Sunday — before handing over to Ruben Amorim.
It is not clear if there will be a role for the Dutchman after his temporary reign, but he is doing what he can to ensure that United is in the best possible position for when Amorim takes charge.
Erik ten Hag was fired last week after a woeful start to the campaign left the team in 14th place in the Premier League and without a win in Europe’s secondary competition the Europa League.
Amorim was quickly hired in his place, but it has been left to Van Nistelrooy to fill the gap while the Portuguese serves a notice period at Sporting Lisbon.
He has delivered wins in the English League Cup and the Europa League either side of a draw with Chelsea in the league.
Earlier, Victor Osimhen scored twice in eight minutes to help Galatasaray beat Tottenham 3-2 in Turkey.
Osimhen scored his first goal in Europe for Galatasaray after his transfer from Napoli with a precise low shot inside the right post to give the host a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute and added his second eight minutes later by heading home a curled cross from the right by Dries Mertens.
It was Tottenham’s first loss in the competition after three wins. Galatasaray remains unbeaten with three wins and a draw.
Every game on Thursday was preceded by a moment of silence to honor the victims of the devastating flooding in Spain.
In Istanbul, Yunus Akgün put Galatasary ahead in the sixth minute when Spurs failed to properly clear a free kick by Mertens and the midfielder volleyed home from outside the area past goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Tottenham equalized in the 19th minute through Will Lankshear, who made only his second senior appearance for the London club and netted from close range after a cross from Brennan Johnson. However, Lankshear was later sent off for a second yellow card on the hour mark.
Substitute Dominic Solanke pulled a goal back for Tottenham with a backheel finish in the 69th.
Lazio is the only team to maintain a perfect record with four wins after Pedro Rodríguez scored in injury time to secure a 2-1 victory over Porto.
Ajax had five different goal scorers in a 5-0 rout of Maccabi Tel-Aviv while three substitutes netted for Alkmaar in its 3-1 victory over Fenerbahce, the first loss of the competition for Jose Mourinho’s team.
Latvia’s RFS salvaged a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht with a stoppage-time equalizer as the Belgian side dropped points for the first time.
Earlier, Eintracht Frankfurt beat Slavia Prague 1-0 thanks to Omar Marmoush’s second-half goal, while Roma was held to a 1-1 draw at Union Saint-Gilloise, another disappointing result after a 3-2 loss to Hellas Verona in Serie A over the weekend.
Rangers held last year’s Conference League champion Olympiacos to a 1-1 draw in Greece.
Athletic Bilbao beat Ludogorets 2-1 to stay unbeaten with three wins and a draw, while Qarabag upset Bodø/Glimt 3-1 in Norway to earn its first points.
Nice drew 2-2 with Twente with both teams finishing the game reduced to 10 men.
Chelsea demolished Armenian club Noah 8-0 to set a record for the biggest victory in the third-tier Conference League.
Chelsea took a 6-0 lead in the first half on two goals from João Félix, and one a piece from Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Axel Disasi and Mykhailo Mudryk. Christopher Nkunku added two more in the second half, the second from the spot..
Nordsjaelland had the previous record, beating Ludogorets 7-1 last season.
Chelsea is one of six teams with three wins after three games.
Vitória beat Mladá Boleslav 2-1, Jagellonia defeated Molde 3-0 and Heidenheim won 2-0 at Hearts.
Earlier, Legia Warsaw routed Dinamo Minsk 4-0 and SK Rapid eased past Petrocub 3-0.
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Karel Janicek in Prague contributed.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
