Today is the main day of the UEFA Europa League round of sixteen, during which a total of 15 first leg matches were played. In the earliest clash, Lisbon's "Sporting" demonstrated their ambitions by defeating "Astana" away. The home team took the lead after Marin Tomasov's goal in the first half, but the Portuguese managed to respond convincingly. In the 48th minute, the score became level when Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty kick, and shortly after, Gelson Martins also found the net. Seydou Doumbia extended the lead to 3-1 in the 56th minute. Eventually, Yuriy Logvinenko received a second yellow card, allowing "Sporting" to finish the match calmly. Later in the evening, most of the favorites celebrated victories in their matches. London's "Arsenal" easily achieved a win away against "Ostersunds", with Nacho Monreal scoring in the 13th minute. Sotirios Papagiannopoulos scored an own goal, and Mesut Ozil added a third for the visitors. Additionally, "Milan" triumphed over Razgrad's "Ludogorets". Patrick Cutrone put the visitors ahead, and Ricardo Rodriguez converted a penalty in the second half. At the very end of the match, Fabio Borini, who came on as a substitute, added the final blow. In other stadiums, "Marseille" claimed victory with a brace from Valere Germain, and Aritz Aduriz led Bilbao "Athletic" to a similar result. The opponents of these clubs struggled in their domestic competitions - Mario Balotelli scored two goals for "Nice," but they couldn't hold on to the lead and lost to Moscow's "Lokomotiv," while San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" conceded a last minute defeat to "Salzburg". It is worth mentioning that Manuel Fernandes scored a hat-trick to lead the Russian club to victory. One of the most interesting matches took place between Dortmund's "Borussia" and Bergamo's "Atalanta". The Germans took the lead through Andre Schurrle's goal, but Josip Ilicic quickly scored a double early in the second half. Just when it seemed that the Italians would secure a positive result away from home, BvB's new signing Michy Batshuayi shone once again. The Belgian first leveled the score and then extended the lead in the 90th minute. Later at night, seven more pairs took to the field. Two Italian clubs, including Serie A leaders Napoli, suffered defeats. Maurizio Sarri's side failed to make an impact against "RB Leipzig." They initially led in the beginning of the second half after Adam Ounas' goal, but Timo Werner and Bruma turned the result in favor of the Germans, with Werner further increasing their advantage towards the end. On the other hand, Roma's "Lazio" lost to "FC FCSB" in Romania, with Harlem-Eddy Gnohere scoring the only goal. One of the main tournament favorites, Madrid's "Atletico", achieved a much better result, scoring four goals away against "Copenhagen." Saul Niguez, Kevin Gameiro, Antoine Griezmann, and Vitolo all found the back of the net for "The Matracas." Another Spanish representative, "Villarreal", failed against "Lyon", who took the lead early in the second half. Tanguy Ndombele and Nabil Fekir scored for the French side, while Pablo Fornals reduced the deficit. However, all questions in this match were eventually settled by Memphis Depay. Results: "Crvena Zvezda" 0 - 0 "CSKA" "Astana" 1 - 3 "Sporting" "Borussia" 3 - 2 "Atalanta" "Ludogorets" 0 - 3 "Milan" "Marseille" 3 - 0 "Braga" "Nice" 2 - 3 "Lokomotiv" "Ostersunds" 0 - 3 "Arsenal" "Real Sociedad" 2 - 2 "Salzburg" "Spartak" 1 - 3 "Athletic Bilbao" "AEK" 1 - 1 Kiev "Dynamo" "Celtic" 1 - 0 "Zenit" "FCSB" 1 - 0 "Lazio" "Kobenhavn" 1 - 4 "Atletico" "Lyon" 3 - 1 "Villarreal" "Partizan" 1 - 1 "Viktoria" "Napoli" 1 - 3 "RB Leipzig"
