Europa League/Conference League Round Up: Basque delight as Real Betis slip up | OneFootball

It was a mixed bag of Thursday night European results for La Liga teams with a double Basque win in the UEFA Europa League.

Athletic Club overpowered Elfsborg with a 3-0 win on home soil in Bilbao as neighbours Real Sociedad rallied late on to beat Ajax 2-0 in San Sebastian.

Real Betis’ push to reach the UEFA Conference League knockouts suffered a blow as they lost 2-1 away in Czechia.

Here’s how Thursday’s games unfolded.

Athletic Club 3-0 Elfsborg

Athletic Club stretched their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions as they brushed aside Swedish side Elfsborg.

The hosts were on top from the off as Adama Boiro fired home from close range and Benat Prados headed home all inside the opening 25 minutes.

The one way traffic continued after the restart, as Gorka Guruzeta smashed home a third, to seal a fourth successive European victory so far this season.

Real Sociedad 2-0 Ajax

La Real bounced back from a mixed run of results with huge victory over Ajax to boost their chances of reaching the knockouts in 2025.

With first half chances limited, the hosts began to take control after the restart, and took their openings late on.

Ander Barrenetxea broke the deadlock with 20 minutes to go, as he calmly slotted home after a breakaway, before Takefusa Kubo’s brilliant individual effort ended Ajax’s resistance to wrap up a win.

Mlada Bolslav 2-1 Real Betis

Real Betis’ chances of making the next phase took another blow as they went down 2-1 at Mlada Boleslav.

Giovani Lo Celso fired the away side into an early lead, before two quickfire home goals after half time, and Lo Celso’s sending off, ended their chances of a win.

The Andalucians have only won once in the league phase this season and this defeat sees them slip down to 22nd in the overall table.

Images via Getty Images / One Football