Matchday two of the UEFA's elite competitions yielded many shocking results. In the Champions League, holders Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat in Lille thanks to Jonathan David's penalty on the stroke of halftime. Premier League outfit Aston Villa also enjoyed one of the greatest nights in the club's history by knocking off six-time champions Bayern Munich at Villa Park, courtesy of Jhon Duran's stunning late winner.
While both the Europa League and the Conference League are far less glamorous than their more illustrious big brother, both tournaments still provide plenty of opportunities for some of Europe's lesser-known outfits to shine in the bright lights of the continental stage. There were plenty of shocking results on matchday two in both tournaments, but let's look at four that you will probably have missed.
RFS 2-2 Galatasaray
RFS became just the second Latvian team in history to qualify for the Europa League this season, following on from their reaching the group stage of the third-tier Conference League last term. After being drawn to play fixtures against the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Ajax, hopes for the reigning Virslīga champions were slim. A 4-1 drubbing in their opening game away at Romanian side FCSB only dampened expectations, and Turkish giants Galatasaray were expected to pile on the misery in the Latvian capital.
The Istanbul club harbours genuine ambitions of winning the tournament this term. Indeed, websites providing betting on soccer made them a genuine +2000 contender for glory this term. Those predictions looked accurate as the visitors seemed set for a comfortable evening after taking an early lead. Dries Mertens opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a composed finish from Mauro Icardi's knockdown, before Yunus Akgun doubled their advantage.
However, RFS had other plans. The determined hosts weren't going down without a fight and just before the break, Janis Ikaunieks gave them hope with a well-taken goal to cut the deficit to one. The momentum shifted further in the second half as Lasha Odisharia levelled the scoreline in the 55th minute, capitalising on a defensive lapse from the visitors to shockingly draw the Latvian outfit level. Despite plenty of pressure from Gala throughout the last half an hour, the hosts held firm and went on to claim a famous point.
Real Sociedad 1-2 Anderlecht
Spanish outfit Real Sociedad were one of the biggest favourites to secure victory on matchday two. They welcomed Belgian outfit Anderlecht to San Sebastián and were heavily fancied to pick up three points. However, eyebrows were raised when star players such as Mikel Oyarzabal - the man who netted the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2024 final - Martín Zubimendi, and Takefusa Kubo were all left on the bench.
That didn't look to be a problem when Pable Marin gave the hosts an early lead. But as the game progressed, it was clear to see that the Spaniards weren't as dominant as expected. The visitors pulled a goal back through Luis Vazquez just before the half-hour mark, before Theo Leoni gave his side a shock lead on the stroke of half-time.
On came the aforementioned Kubo and Oyarzabal entered the fray shortly thereafter, but neither of them was able to summon up an equaliser. The game ultimately finished 2-1, with Anderlecht gaining a crucial three points that could prove decisive in their quest for progression.
Legia Warsaw 1-0 Real Betis
Visiting the Polish capital on a Thursday night is never an easy task, even when you're a massive favourite. Spanish side Real Betis found that out on matchday one of the Conference League - with the tournament starting a week later than its Europa counterpart. They rocked up to Warsaw expecting to leave with three points, but 25,000 raucous supporters at the Stadion Wojska Polskiego had other ideas.
The only goal of the game came courtesy of Steve Kapuadi, who headed home a beautifully crafted cross in the 23rd minute. From there on out, the Spaniards would pile on the pressure, going on to dominate large stretches of the game. However, their inability to convert possession into goals proved costly, while Legia's resolute defence simply refused to be breached despite the late onslaught. The hosts ultimately emerged as 1-0 victors, picking up just their second-ever victory against Spanish opposition.
Shamrock Rovers 1-1 APOEL Nicosia
Back in 2012, Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia shockingly made it to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, where they were ultimately beaten by a Cristiano Ronaldo-powered Real Madrid. Now, they find themselves in the Conference League, which is still a decent effort considering Cyprus' footballing standing on the continental stage. They were expected to pick up a comfortable victory against Irish champions Shamrock Rovers on matchday one, especially when the hosts were reduced to ten men.
The game seemed to be slipping away from the Dublin-based hosts when Neil Farrugia received a second yellow card early in the second half, leaving his side with a mountain to climb. The visitors duly took advantage of their numerical superiority, with Konstantinos Laifis heading them into the lead shortly after the sending-off. However, Shamrock Rovers refused to capitulate.
In the dying moments of the match, Dylan Watts, a substitute brought on as part of an attacking reshuffle, rose to meet Jack Byrne's corner, nodding home a sensational equalizer in the 92nd minute to grab Shamrock a share of the spoils.
