Aston Villa Beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 Amid Protests, Arrests

Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on Thursday in their Europa League match, which was played under increased security and more than 700 police officers were deployed to intervene in possible protests.

Morgan Rogers slotted past Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled their lead with Donyell Malen firing into the bottom corner from the penalty spot. This was Villa’s third win in matches in the competition.

The match at Villa Park became the center of a political controversy after West Midlands Police deemed it high risk and banned Maccabi fans from attending the match, citing violence and hate crimes that occurred when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

The ban has faced widespread criticism, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision.

Police expressed concerns about possible clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups, and six people were arrested ahead of the match. These included a 21-year-old man who was arrested for disobeying an order to remove his face mask and a 17-year-old boy who was arrested for disobeying an order to distribute it.

Around 200 protesters, including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, gathered near the children’s playground next to Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand ahead of the match.

Among pro-Gaza slogans, Palestinian flags and banners calling for a boycott of Israel were also placed alongside Trinity Street.

When reported by a passerby that the Israeli flag was being waved, police officers briefly formed a cordon to prevent the flow of protesters.

Before kick-off, five vehicles passed the ground carrying electronic billboards with messages against anti-Semitism.

Nottingham Forest beat Sturm Graz 0-0 as Forest missed a penalty through Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Premier League club squandered an opportunity to hand new manager Sean Dyche a second consecutive win in Europe’s second-tier competition.

Gibbs-White had the opportunity to put the visitors ahead in the first half, but his low shot from the penalty spot was saved by goalkeeper Oliver Christensen.

Nicolás Domínguez struck from outside the penalty area in the last minute and Forest had to settle for a draw after beating Porto 2-0 two weeks ago, with Gibbs-White converting the penalty.

Midtjylland top Danish club Midtjylland scored three goals in seven minutes to maintain a perfect record in a 3-1 defeat to Celtic, the Scottish club’s first under interim coach Martin O’Neill, to remain top of the table midway through the league stage.

Martin Erlić broke the deadlock with a header past Kasper Schmeichel after the Danish international goalkeeper made some fine saves in the 33rd round. Midtjylland’s 19-year-old forward Mikel Gogorza scored the first goal and doubled the advantage with a curling shot just two minutes later. Djú Franculino added another to put the result beyond doubt.

Substitute Reo Hatate earned Celtic a penalty kick late in the second half.

Celtic’s arch-rival Rangers were also defeated, and Roma won 2-0 after consecutive defeats in Glasgow.

Matías Soulé took an early opener from close range before Lorenzo Pellegrini doubled the advantage past Jack Butland.

Rangers have lost all four matches and are bottom of the table.

With the goals scored by Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony five minutes apart in the first half in Seville, Real Betis inflicted its first defeat on Lyon, 2-0. Braga lost 4-3 at home to Genk, their first defeat.

Utrecht finally scored Utrecht scored their first goal of the tournament with a goal from Miguel Rodriguez. This goal was enough for the Dutch team to draw 1-1 with Porto, even though the team’s score dropped to 10 in the 66th minute.

Salzburg won its first victory at home with Go Ahead Eagles, 2-0.

Pablo Durán scored twice and Sergi Dominguez added an own goal as Celta Vigo won its fifth consecutive match in all competitions, beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0.

Freiburg earned a 3-1 win against Nice, handing the French side their fourth consecutive defeat.

Additionally, Stuttgart beat Feyenoord 2-0 at home, while PAOK defeated 10-man Young Boys 4-0.

Fiorentina defeated Mainz in the Conference League rallied to beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the first game of the Italian club’s interim coach Daniele Galloppa, who took over after Stefano Pioli was sacked on Tuesday with the Viola in last place in Serie A. Fiorentina lost consecutive Conference League finals before reaching the semi-finals last season.

Ismaïla Sarr scored two goals and Maxence Lacroix scored one goal for Crystal Palace, which beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1.