Cherries on top! Bournemouth make European history as Sunderland score last-gasp winner and Brighton enjoy easy win... but Crystal Palace fall to defeat in five-goal thriller against Lyon

This was a night for Bournemouth to look back as much as it was to look forward.

A night to reflect on how far they’ve come, from navigating a 17-point deduction that put their Football League status at risk in 2008 to playing – and winning – their first ever European home game, thanks to a sublime treble from Evanilson, Rayan and Alvaro Rodriguez, who added the cherry on top with a late penalty.

There was a special tifo behind one goal to mark the historic night, with a record crowd of 12,010 packed in to witness it.

It was Adam Smith, who has been with Bournemouth since 2010 when they played in League One, leading them out as club captain.

Here was owner Bill Foley, seeing his vision to get Bournemouth into Europe, a target he ambitiously but explicitly set back in December 2022, occurring a year ahead of his five-year target.

But when Smith’s cross in from the right was expertly flicked up into the air by Evanilson, looping over Sturm Graz goalkeeper Daniil Khudyakov, it was a moment for Bournemouth to look forward, too.

Tournament favourites before they beat Real Sociedad in San Sebastian last time out and back-to-back European wins has done little to rubbish that label. Bournemouth have had to take the long way to the top but now they are here, they are showing just how much of a punch they pack.

Evanilson scored Bournemouth's first European goal at home in their 3-0 win over Sturm Graz

Bournemouth fans celebrated the club's journey pre-match, with the club now among the leading contenders to win the Europa League

Boss Marco Rose, who made five changes for this one, described the weekend’s 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea as a ‘good slap’.

Bournemouth were ruthlessly dismantled in south-west London. But to paraphrase the iconic ‘Tubthumping’, a song by British band Chumbawamba, when you get knocked down, you get up again, and that’s exactly what Rose’s side did.

It was a suffocating first half for a Sturm Graz side that started with a back five before pivoting to a back four at the interval.

Bournemouth had 10 efforts on goal to the visitors’ zero, with Ben Gannon-Doak and Evanilson a constant threat down the Bournemouth right.

Good sides ride their luck at times, too, and Bournemouth are no different. Sturm Graz wanted a penalty just before half-time when Belmin Beganovic was clumsily felled by Smith, only for the referee to adjudge Beganovic to have dived.

In a much improved second half, Graz struck the post when Jurgen Heil was picked out in the area.

But when you’ve battled back from the brink of minus-seventeen in League Two, and all the perils that come with trying to gatecrash the Premier League elite from a starting base in the fourth tier, adversity in Europe is light work.

Second halves have been an issue that have pockmarked Rose’s tenure on the south coast so far, coming into this one having led in six out of eight, only going on to win two of them. It was an irritation away to Sociedad, and here was proof that Rose and his players are learning lessons on the fly.

Marco Rose wants his side to take their performance against Sturm Graz into the Premier League

Justin Kluivert, Rayan and Ryan Christie all formed part of the cavalry sent on by Rose in a bid to settle the game and allow the party atmosphere to kick into another gear and that roll of the dice paid off with 15 minutes to go.

Khudyakov dealt poorly with a Bournemouth corner and after dropping it in his six-yard box, Rayan smashed in as Rose threw both arms into the air in celebration.

Rose is already looking ahead to how they can now secure their first league win of the season - starting on Sunday, when Sunderland visit the Vitality.

'Performance-wise, clean sheet, attitude, effort - a deserved win and now we have to continue, have to get consistent in these things and Sunderland is the next challenge,' said Rose.

'I believe in this team and know they are always confident despite a difficult situation. The squad is working, everyone is keen to play, everyone deserves to play and its good for us for the busy weeks to have a competitive squad.

'If we stick together and play like this and we have our fans then we are hard to play and it's hard to beat us. That's what we should take into the next game.'

For all the fireworks, tifos, light shows, and noise that lit up the night sky, here was proof of just how far Bournemouth have come… and how much further this ascending group can go with Champions League football in their sights.

By Michael Pavitt

Regis Le Bris was forced to call on the cavalry to rescue his side as Sunderland came from behind to win their first European away match in 53 years in stoppage time against Portuguese second division side Torreense.

Noah Sadiki struck in the dying minutes prompting wild celebrations from the near 4,000 travelling supporters, who had earlier seen summer signing Jules Ahoka cancel out a spectacular opener from Torreense defender Volnei Feltes.

The winner owed much to the creativity of Enzo Le Fee and Granit Xhaka as the pair, who began the night on the bench, underlined their importance to the Black Cats.

Having watched their team-mates struggle to break down Torreense, Le Fee produced a delightful dinked pass into the penalty area to find Xhaka, with the Swiss flicking the ball first time into the path of Sadiki to score his first goal for the club.

‘When Granit touched it I heard him scream shoot and I didn’t think twice,' Sadiki said. 'I just hoped it was going in and the keeper wouldn’t save it. I’m really happy. It was a beautiful moment.’

Le Bris had taken the understandable risk by deciding to make seven changes for the fixture against arguably their weakest Europa League opponents, with Torreense currently lying 15th in the Portuguese second tier.

Noah Sadiki scored a stoppage time winner as Sunderland beat Portuguese side Torreense

Sunderland were forced to fight back following a stunning opener from Volnei Feltes

With just four points in the Premier League and five matches left to play this month, this was the match to give an opportunity to fringe members of the squad.

Torreense, though, have proved they are more than capable of springing a surprise. Their journey to the Europa League is one to rival Sunderland’s own having stunned Sporting Lisbon in last year’s Portuguese Cup final to qualify.

Their opening goal proved just as unexpected as that triumph.

Feltes was well inside his own half when he received possession and opted to embark on a forward run. After driving towards the Sunderland box, the Brazilian defender chopped between the challenges of Malick Fofana and Nilson Angulo and curled magnificently into the top corner.

Whatever happens to the minnows, they will come away with one of the best goals of this year’s competition.

Sunderland were forced to be patient when trying to break down their opponents, who dropped deep in the second half.

Le Bris turned to his bench moments after Nilson Angulo saw a header superbly kept out by goalkeeper Lucas Paes, with Omar Alderete failing to convert the follow-up.

His quadruple change of Xhaka, Le Fee, Reinildo and Nordi Mukiele proved crucial. The latter's cross for Ahoka to equalise with a header while Xhaka and Le Fee were central to Sadiki's winner.

'Winning this game just at the end is really special,' Le Bris said. 'It’s important for the club and the fans – they were fantastic once again.

'We are growing and we need experiences and I think the team showed the belief until the end which is really important for us. We showed again we have this mindset.'

By James Sharpe

Now Pierre Sage knows how Oliver Glasner feels. He knows how it feels to return to your old stomping ground, one where you achieved great things, and come away with nothing.

Just as Glasner took his new Nottingham Forest side back to Selhurst Park at the weekend and lost, so too did Sage as Crystal Palace endured a frustrating night in Lyon where he once helped save the French side from relegation.

In truth, a night like this has been coming. Palace cannot keep defending like this, be so open and unorganised, and expect to win matches. Sooner or later, you leave yourself with too much of a hill to climb.

It took Forest just three minutes to open the scoring at the weekend and Lyon needed only seven minutes and 31 seconds here. As always, it was all too easy.

A bog-standard corner into a crowded six-yard box and, despite the hordes of black Palace shirts, the ball still dropped to Lyon captain Corentin Tolisso.

Only this time, Lyon didn’t miss the rest of the chances that came their way like Forest did. On the stroke of half-time the hosts cut through Palace with simple passes and Keito Nakamura squared for Ernest Nuamah, who darted ahead of the defenders to finish. Tyrick Mitchell, for all his goalscoring exploits this season, made little effort to track his run.

It was this leakiness that caused a few shudders in the Palace boardroom, letting in 11 goals in their opening four matches, and sparked rumblings that Sage could be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season.

Pierre Sage saw his Crystal Palace side fall to a 3-2 defeat against his former club Lyon

Ernest Nuamah was among the scores as Lyon capitalised on poor Crystal Palace defending

If there is a saving grace to which Palace can cling, it’s that when they do get it right under Sage, they do look menacing. There was little of that in a dreadful first half but, after the break, they clicked into gear. They are just, as yet, unable to find the balance.

Having wantaway forward Ismaila Sarr back in the line-up always helps with his directness in the final third.

And when you have the precision of Adam Wharton in your midfield, you will always stand a chance. It was his delightful first-time through ball to Yeremy Pino after a fine short corner routine that helped fire Palace back into the game.

The introduction of Daichi Kamada swung momentum further Palace’s way. He was bundled over inside the box but Palace’s furious protests fell on deaf ears. He had a shot from close range saved and, eventually, found the net after some chaos inside the box.

The only problem was that, by then, Lyon had already added a third courtesy of Pavel Sulc’s cheeky backheel flick.

Palace kept pushing as Chris Richards saw a late header from a corner saved but, ultimately, in vain. This time, it wasn’t enough. This time, they didn’t get away with it. This time, they gave themselves too much to do.

'I’m really frustrated about the result but really frustrated with the way of playing in the first half,' Sage said.

'Our game started at half-time and it was too late.

'We play too quickly sometimes with the idea to play out the back quickly in transition but we are not a team like this, we have only one or two players able to run and make the difference with the speed.

'That’s why we have to move with the ball, travel with the ball, and we did that in the second half.'

By Kieran Gill

It must be up there with the finest feelings in football – the relief that washes over when your team finally finds a way through that dastardly low block in front of them.

For Brighton, that arrived just before half-time. There was no blaming Kauno Zalgiris for their tactical approach. Hardly anyone other than Fabian Hurzeler, who was perhaps being polite when listing the Lithuanian side’s attributes before kick-off, gave them a hope in hell of escaping their first-ever fixture in the main stage of a European competition without losing.

Once Georginio Rutter found that first goal after 41 minutes, this turned into a much more enjoyable evening at the Amex Stadium. Even more so when Jack Hinshelwood, back from his ankle injury and appearing for the first time since August, added a second before the break.

With that, the floodgates opened, Brighton started their Conference League campaign in style, and truthfully, this competition should sit high on Hurzeler’s priorities this term.

Georginio Rutter scored the opening goal as Brighton overcame Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris

While we often praise Brighton for the way in which they work – including in the talents they find that the richer clubs then seek to steal – all that is missing is the silverware to complement it all.

Despite being brilliantly run, they have never won a major trophy in their history, and the Conference League is an opportunity to correct that. Other English clubs such as West Ham and Brighton’s rivals Crystal Palace have used it well. To sides such as Kauno Zalgiris, these are giants they are competing with, opponents competing on an entirely alien level to their own.

While Hurzeler had explained why Kauno Zalgiris would be confident – he warned us they were the champions of Lithuania and that they had won the Lithuanian Cup at the weekend – Brighton are in a happy place, too. This made it five successive victories for them in all competitions.

They are third in the Premier League behind only Manchester City and Arsenal, and into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after winning away at Manchester United – a club now linked with liking Hurzeler in case they move on from Michael Carrick.

With that, we had an inkling as to how this game would go. Brighton would attack, and Kauno Zalgiris would defend, and the opening 30 minutes was all about blocks. From Anton Tolordava, from Nosa Iyobosa Edokpolor, from any Kauno Zalgiris player with a body for throwing at the ball.

But then arrived the breakthrough. It was a nice finish from Rutter despite the on-field officials thinking the ball had gone behind for a goal-kick in the build-up. It had not, and VAR overruled to award Brighton their opener. Hinshelwood added a second before the break before Rutter grabbed the third goal and Matt O’Riley the fourth.

‘We want to keep improving every game,' said Hinshelwood. 'What’s happened in the past has gone now. We want to look forward to the future.’

It was a good way to warm up for Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, though Brighton may be reminded by the Amex’s away end which side have won a trophy of late. Hurzeler should be embracing this European competition as a way to give his supporters a season to cherish.