Metalist Kharkiv virtually secured their passage to the next round of Europa League play after a smashing 4-0 win against SV Salzburg in Austria, with Jonathan Cristaldo notching a first-half brace to put the Ukrainians in commanding position. AZ Alkmaar also poicked up a first leg win, although considering their opponents were the rather toothless Anderlecht, they’ll be disappointed that Adam Maher’s 35th-minute strike was the whole margin of victory - a difficult return leg in Belgium awaits.
UEFA Europa League 2012: Thursday’s Early Scores
Elsewhere, Viktoria Plzen and Schalke 04 battled to a 1-1 draw, with the visiting Germans relying on a late Klaas-Jan Huntelaar goal to level the scores and take a vital away goal from the tie, while an even later goal by Sporting Lisbon’s Filipe Andre Santos saw his team salvage a 2-2 draw against Legia Warsaw. Here is the full set of scores from the early action.
AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Anderlecht
Legia Warsaw 2-2 Sporting Lisbon
SV Salzburg 0-4 Metalist Kharkiv
Viktoria Plzen 1-1 Schalke 04
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