Four of seven perfect records were felled on Matchday 3, shaking things up ahead of Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League.
UEFA.com looks over the key storylines and statistics.
Latest standings
Early kick-offs (18:45 CET)
Salzburg vs Go Ahead Eagles
Basel vs FCSB
Midtjylland vs Celtic
Utrecht vs Porto
Crvena Zvezda vs Lille
GNK Dinamo vs Celta
Malmö vs Panathinaikos
Nice vs Freiburg
Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest
Late kick-offs (21:00 CET)
Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Bologna vs Brann
Viktoria Plzeň vs Fenerbahçe
Ferencváros vs Ludogorets
PAOK vs Young Boys
Rangers vs Roma
Real Betis vs Lyon
Braga vs Genk
Stuttgart vs Feyenoord
Standout fixtures
Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest
The story: Sean Dyche made clear his intentions to play effective rather than fashionable football ahead of his Nottingham Forest bow and that they did to secure a first European win since 1995, defeating Porto 2-0 behind penalties from Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus. Sturm Graz were narrowly defeated by Celtic in Glasgow with coach Jürgen Säumel applauding a “courageous performance” but reminding that “small details are crucial” at this level.
The stat: Nottingham Forest eliminated Sturm Graz from the quarter-finals of the 1983/84 UEFA Cup in the only previous European meetings between these sides.
Real Betis vs Lyon
The story: Lyon remain flawless and are yet to concede after continuing their imperious start with a 2-0 victory over Basel at OL Stadium. Real Betis would ordinarily fancy their chances at breaking that defensive record, but a goalless draw at Genk on Matchday 3 has left the Spanish side feeling that they must rediscover their attacking rhythm. “We dominated the match from the start, but we lacked the creativity to do damage,” said coach Manuel Pellegrini.
The stat: The only previous European meetings between these sides came in the group stage of this competition in 2013. A goalless draw in Seville preceded a 1-0 home win for Lyon in which substitute Bafétimbi Gomis scored the decisive goal.
Midtjylland vs Celtic
The story: Midtjylland sit top of the league phase table ahead of Matchday 4 after taking three wins from three and scoring more goals (8) than any other team. The task, then, is clear: “keep up the good work” as defender Martin Erlić puts it. Celtic did not enjoy the same fast start but picked up their first win of the campaign against Sturm Graz. Brendan Rodgers has since tendered his resignation, leaving interim replacements Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to try and build on that momentum. “The players know how to win, so it’s just getting that back,” O’Neill said of his task.
The stat: Three of Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s 118 Denmark appearances have come at Arena Herning. All three ended in victory, with Schmeichel keeping a clean sheet on each occasion (2-0 vs Austria, 4-0 vs Faroe Islands, 8-0 vs Moldova).
Rangers vs Roma
The story: Point-less Rangers and Roma, defeated in their last two league phase matches, meet at Ibrox Stadium with hopes of kick-starting their campaigns. Rangers lost 3-0 at Brann in Danny Röhl’s first game in charge, the new coach admitting “it was not good enough” but insisting “I’m totally convinced we can make the turnaround”. They can take a first step towards that against Roma, who want to react after a 2-1 home defeat to Viktoria Plzeň.
The stat: Roma have recovered more balls (148) than any other side in the Europa League this season and rank joint-fifth for possession with 55.3%.
Other highlights
- Lille, Porto and Aston Villa aim to bounce back after seeing their 100% records fall to PAOK, Nottingham Forest and Go Ahead Eagles respectively.
- Second-placed Braga – the third team still boasting a perfect record – remain at home to face Genk after beating Crvena Zvezda 2-0.
- Feyenoord travel to Stuttgart after getting off the mark with a 3-1 victory over Panathinaikos. The pair met eight times in the UEFA Cup, splitting the matches with three wins and two draws each.
- Viktoria Plzeň and Fenerbahçe meet in Plzen after narrow wins over Roma and Stuttgart respectively.
