With a goal from the striker Mauro Icardi in the added time of the match, Galatasaray defeated the Czech Sparta Prague 3:2 in the first match of the playoffs in the Europa League.
Both teams finished the match with a reduced squad, and in Istanbul the visitors from Prague equalized twice, but never managed to get more than a minimal loss.
In another match of this phase of the tournament, Feyenoord drew 1:1 at home to Italian Roma.
The Dutch representative was the more active team on the field throughout, but was never able to materialize this superiority in victory.
At De Kip, the home team opened the scoring in the last seconds of the half through Igor Paishao, who headed in a cross from the left flank. However, Roma equalized in the 67th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored.
Feyenoord came very close to winning the match in stoppage time, but Zeki Celik’s free-kick hit the side post.
Sporting Lisbon took a comfortable lead ahead of the second leg against Swiss side Young Boys after a 3-1 win in Bern.
Shakhtar Donetsk held to a 2-2 draw at home to Olympique Marseille.
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