UEFA Europa League 2026-27 — Bournemouth defeats Real Sociedad in first European match; Juventus, Crystal Palace win big

Bournemouth defeated Real Sociedad in its first European match. | Photo Credit: AP

Bournemouth defeated Real Sociedad in its first-ever European match, while Juventus and Crystal Palace began with big wins in the first round of UEFA Europa League 2026-27 fixtures.

Marco Rose’s side travelled to Spain for its first European soiree having finished sixth in the Premier League last season, and came away with a win thanks to goals from Justin Kluivert and Rayan.

Kluivert opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a VAR intervention ruled him to be onside before Rayan doubled the lead nine minutes later from an Alex Scott through-ball.

Sergio Gomez pulled one back with a cross that found its way into the back of the net but the Cherries could not be stopped from taking all three points.

Meanwhile, Juventus comprehensively dismantled Dutch side NEC Nijmegen 5-0 as summer signings as summer signings Nick Woltemade, Zeki Celik and Kerim Alajbegovic opened their accounts in black and white.

ALSO READ: 17-year-old Samba stars as Manchester City thrashes Norwich City

There were also goals from Nico Gonzalez and Randol Kolo Muani.

Bournemouth’s fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace also secured a big win, thrashing Poland’s Lech Poznan 4-0.

The UEFA Conference League champion raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half through goals from Yeremy Pino, Chris Richards, and Jorgan Strand-Larsen. Radoslaw Murawski conceded a penalty for Strand-Larsen’s goal, and was given his marching orders in the final minutes of the game before Eddie Nketiah added a fourth.