Euro Trash

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Europa League round-up: (September 15 2017)

Arsenal defeat Cologne after long delay but Everton are crushed 3-0 by Atalanta


Round-up of Thursday's action in the Europa League as Arsenal finally won their delayed clash with Cologne while Everton lost to Atalanta.

Arsenal came from behind to beat Cologne in their delayed Europa League opener against a backdrop of crowd trouble at the Emirates Stadium.

Kick-off was delayed by an hour as ticketless away supporters attempted to enter the ground, with plenty of Cologne fans sat in among the home section when the tie finally got under way, with the Gunners eventually winning 3-1.

Jhon Cordoba's early 40-yard strike sent the travelling contingent of fans wild but after the break Arsenal hit back thanks to the introduction of substitute Sead Kolasinac and a change of shape.

Kolasinac levelled less than four minutes after coming off the bench and Alexis Sanchez, a surprise starter ahead of a trip to Chelsea on Sunday, scored a marvellous solo goal before Hector Bellerin secured the win late on.

Everton suffered an awful start to their Group E campaign as they were soundly beaten 3-0 by Atalanta in Reggio Emilia.

The Toffees, went into the match having suffered a 3-0 home loss to Tottenham five days earlier and with boss Ronald Koeman stressing they would "need to react" in Italy after that poor performance.

But they were abject once again here, with their sloppiness punished by a dynamic Atalanta side who scored three times in the first half through Andrea Masiello, captain Alejandro Gomez and Bryan Cristante.

While failing to mount anything really resembling a fightback after the break, Koeman's men at least managed to avoid conceding any further goals, although Remo Freuler's shot did connect with their crossbar.