Edin Dzeko lashes out: “They’re booing us!” Fans go wild…

This week’s matches in the UEFA Europa League and Conference League are complete. The standout results were as follows:

LILLE 4-0 DINAMO ZAGREB
Playing at home, Lille thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0. The French side started fast, going 2-0 up in the first half with goals from Felix Correia (22’) and Ngal’ayel Mukau (36’). They kept the pressure on in the second half, adding goals from Hamza Igmane (69’) and Benjamin André (86’) to seal a convincing 4-0 victory.

ASTON VILLA 2-1 YOUNG BOYS
Fenerbahçe’s group rival Aston Villa hosted Young Boys and won 2-1. Both Villa goals came from Donyell Malen (27’ and 42’). Young Boys pulled one back through Joel Monteiro in the 90th minute.

OTHER RESULTS
Roma 2-1 Midtjylland
Porto 3-0 Nice
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Freiburg
Fenerbahçe 1-1 Ferencvaros
Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
PAOK 1-1 Brann
Ludogorets 3-2 Celta Vigo
Bologna 4-1 Salzburg
Kızılyıldız 1-0 FCSB
Go Ahead Eagles 0-4 Stuttgart
Genk 2-1 Basel
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-6 Olympique Lyon
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Malmö
Panathinaikos 2-1 Sturm Graz
Rangers 1-1 Braga
Real Betis 2-1 Utrecht

Surprise results also emerged in the UEFA Conference League. Here are the most notable matches…

STRASBOURG 2-1 CRYSTAL PALACE
One of the tournament favourites, the clash between Strasbourg and Crystal Palace was a fierce battle. Strasbourg won 2-1 at home. Crystal Palace took the lead through Tyrick Mitchell (35’), but Strasbourg turned it around with goals from Emanuel Emegha (53’) and Samir El Mourabet (77’).

FIORENTINA 0-1 AEK
One of the most talked-about matches of the night ended in chaos. AEK stunned Fiorentina with a 1-0 away win, Mijat Gacinovic scoring the only goal in the 35th minute. Frustrated by poor performances and a string of bad results, Fiorentina fans booed and whistled their own players throughout the game. Edin Dzeko, who joined Fiorentina from Fenerbahçe at the start of the season, hit back strongly after the match.

“WE KEEP GETTING BOOED”
“We can say we’re playing terribly – no problem. Are we in bad form? Yes, that’s true. Maybe we don’t deserve to wear this shirt? Fine, maybe that’s the case too – no issue. But when I’m playing at home, instead of being booed every time I lose the ball, I’d like the fans to help me. If we’re going through a tough period, we should get through it together. Because this isn’t good. I’m here today, maybe I won’t be tomorrow, but these guys deserve a bit more help. You can boo us at the end of the match – no problem. But during the game, we need more support from our fans. It’s hard to get out of this situation on our own.”

“I HAVE A 20-YEAR CAREER”
“We need our fans, especially at home. Especially in this stadium – which feels a bit strange. I know we’re not playing well, we’re losing a lot of matches, all of that is true, but we need more support during the game instead of constant booing. In my 20-year career, I’ve played in every kind of stadium, from the best to the worst… Especially the young players need support. A positive word on the pitch makes a difference. Even when you make a bad pass, if the crowd applauds, you believe the next pass will be better. If we get caught up in negative energy, it’s not good – you stop moving, stop passing, you’re afraid to make mistakes, and everything becomes much harder.”

“WE NEED TIME”
“We can’t string together two or three passes – that’s not normal. At the same time, each of us needs to ask ourselves a few questions about what’s going wrong. Physically we’re not at our best, but over the last two weeks and during the break, the team has worked really hard. The lads felt much better – you saw that against Juventus. We need time; we’re not at our best yet.”

OTHER CONFERENCE LEAGUE RESULTS
AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Shelbourne
Hamrun Spartans 3-1 Lincoln Red Imps
Zrinjski 2-1 Hacken
Lech Poznan 2-0 Lausanne
Omonoia 2-0 Dinamo Kiev
Rakow 4-1 Rapid Wien
Sigma Olomouc 2-1 Celje
Universitatea Craiova 1-0 Mainz 05
Slovan Bratislava 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Aberdeen 1-1 Noah
Breidablik 2-2 Samsunspor
Drita 1-0 Shkendija
Rijeka 0-0 AEK Larnaca
Jagiellonia 1-0 KuPS Kuopio
Legia Warsaw 0-1 Sparta Prague
Shamrock Rovers 1-2 Shakhtar Donetsk