Ajax, Besiktás and Anderlecht advance in Europa League

The first legs of the third preliminary round of Europa League and Conference League were played on Thursday night, with several contenders for the final phase in action. Besiktás claimed the best result of the evening by beating Hradec Králové away in the Czech Republic. After a tight first half where the Turkish side even hit the post, Vincenzo Italiano's team broke through in the second period thanks to Semih Kiliçsoy in the 80th minute, according to L'Équipe. The red card for Kassoum Ouattara in the 71st minute helped the Turks find the breakthrough.

Among other notable results, Benfica crushed Hearts (6-1) with another goal from Vangelis Pavlidis, while Anderlecht surprised PAOK with a goal from Mihajlo Cvetkovic in the opening minute. Ajax completed the Dutch evening with authority against Irish side Shelbourne (3-1), with a goal from Mika Godts, a winger tracked by PSG.