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Europa League Rewind: Zlatan leads Man United to win, Tottenham loses at Gent, and more

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Manchester United cruised past an overmatched Saint-Etienne team thanks to a hat-trick from the team’s star forward.

The match was billed as a battle of Pogba brothers, but it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who stole the show by leading United to a 3-0 win over the French side. Paul Pogba went a full 90 minutes in the win while his brother, Florentin, lasted 79 minutes before being removed from the Saint-Etienne lineup.

Ibrahimovic struck first in the 15th minute on a deflected free kick to give the hosts an early lead, but it took another 60 minute for the Swedish star to double it with a second goal. In the 88th minute, Ibrahimovic smashed home a penalty kick to seal the result.

Here’s a closer look at some more of Thursday’s action:

TOTTENHAM UPSET BY GENT

The day’s biggest upset came in Belgium as a Premier League contender fell.

A goal from French forward Jérémy Perbet proved just enough for Gent, who toppled Tottenham, 1-0. Gent currently sits eighth in the Belgian Jupiler League.

Perbet’s goal came in the 59th minute, giving Gent the advantage heading into next week’s rematch at Wembley Stadium. After seeing his original shot blocked by Tottenham defender Ben Davies, Perbet stuck with it and slipped his second attempt past a diving Hugo Lloris to give the Belgian side the win on the day.

STUNNING FREE KICK LEADS FIORENTINA PAST MONCHENGLADBACH

Fiorentina escaped Thursday with a win, and they did it in style.

Federico Bernardeschi’s stunning second-half free kick earned Fiorentina a narrow 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Thursday. The win saw the Italian side topple their German counterparts in their own arena, giving them a massive away goal heading into the second leg.

Bernardeschi’s rocket came in the 55th minute, leaving goalkeeper Yann Sommer stunned. It was a fortunate strike for Fiorentina, who were outshot 18-8 on the day.

ROMA CRUSHES VILLARREAL

Roma left little doubt on Thursday, cruising to a lopsided win over a tough Spanish foe.

An Eden Dzeko hat-trick paired with an earlier Emerson finish led the Italian side to a 4-0 thumping of Villarreal in Spain. The win equaled the largest margin of victory on the day, matched only by Rostov’s 4-0 drubbing of Sparta Praha.

Emerson opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, and the score remained 1-0 until after the halftime whistle. From there, the Dzeko show took over, as the Bosnian forward fired goals in the 65th, 79th and 86th minute to lead the way in the dominant win.

Here’s a closer look at the rest of Thursday’s scores:

Krasnador 1 – 0 Fenerbahce

Rostov 4- 0 Sparta Praha

AZ Alkmaar 1 – 4 Lyon

Olympiakos 0 – 0 Osmanlispor

Astra 2 – 2 Genk

Ludogorets 1 – 2 Copenhagen

Celta Vigo 0 – 1 Shakhtar Donetsk

PAOK 0 – 3 Schalke

Hapoel Be’er Sheva 1 – 3 Besiktas

Anderlecht 2 – 0 Zenit

Athletic Bilbao 3 – 2 APOEL

Legia Warsaw 0 – 0 Ajax

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