Arsenal 4 – 1 Rapid Vienna
Arsenal, who opened the doors of the Emirates Stadium to 2,000 fans for the first time since the coronavirus lockdowns, had a very impressive first half in their Matchday 5, UEFA Europa League tie against Austrian side Rapid Vienna.
The Gunners opened the scoring early through a long-range Alexander Lacazette effort in the 10th minute and by the end of the first half, Pablo Mari and Edward Nketiah had made it 3-0.
The game ended 4-1 with Koya Kitagawa scoring for Rapid two minutes into the second half and Emile Smith-Rowe extending Arsenal’s lead in the 66th minute for Arsenal’s fifth straight victory in the group stage.
Molde 3 -1 Dundalk
The Gunners, having tied down top spot, the battle in the group for runner’s up will go down the wire. Norwegian side Molde made it easier for themselves on Thursday as they took a comfortable victory at home against Dundalk and moved up to second place in the table with nine points.
The Irish side Dundalk are rock bottom and have neither drawn nor won any matches in the group. They have managed six goals in the five matches played so far and have conceded 15 in the process.
In a mostly one-sided match, Dundalk held Molde from scoring until the half-hour mark. Magnus Wolff Eikrem broke the deadlock with a header before Ohi Anthony Omoijuanfo and Martin Ellingsen made it three. Dundalk got a consolation goal at the very end but the results were settled with Molde taking all three points.
Molde, on nine points, and Rapid, on six, are billed to meet in Rapid’s Allianz Stadium in Austria on Thursday, December 10 for a final showdown to decide who qualifies alongside Arsenal from Group B to the last 16.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
