Arsenal still perfect in Europa League
Olivier Giroud scored late in the second half for Arsenal to maintain its perfect Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win over 10-man Red Star Belgrade on Thursday.
Five minutes after Milan Rodic was sent off for a second yellow card, Giroud struck with an overhead kick five minutes before the final whistle after Theo Walcott headed the ball to him.
“It was a great combination before the goal as well and he finished well,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
Arsenal opened a five-point lead in Group H with nine points. Red Star and BATE Borisov, which beat visiting Cologne 1-0, are on four. Cologne is bottom without a point.
Elsewhere, Lazio rallied to take three points at Nice with a 3-1 win in Group K, and Real Sociedad thrashed Macedonia’s Vardar 6-0 in Group L with Willian Jose scoring four goals.
Milan was held 0-0 at home by Greek team AEK in Group D, and Everton’s campaign suffered another blow after a 2-1 loss at home to Lyon in Group E.
Arsenal rested nine front-line players who were in the lineup for the English Premier League’s match against Watford on Saturday, which Arsenal lost 2-1. But goalkeeper Petr Cech was in the goal as captain and made his presence felt, making several perfect saves.
“It’s important to have a good goalkeeper in this kind of game, too,” Wenger said. “They were dangerous and Petr Cech kept us in the game.”
Mathieu Debuchy returned to the squad after a year due to injuries.
With several young players, including Reiss Nelson, Joseph Willock and Ainsley Maitland Niles, the Gunners didn’t look dangerous until Giroud’s goal.
“I believe you win when you can, you do not decide when,” Wenger said. “What’s remarkable is the spirit we have shown. They defended very well, but the goal is a consequence of us wanting to play through them.”
Richmond Boakye headed the ball onto the crossbar in the biggest chance for Red Star.
Eslewhere, boosted by a 2-1 victory over Juventus in Serie A, Lazio took the sole lead in Group K after rallying to a 3-1 away win at Nice in a matchup of two teams that won their previous two games.
The fans didn’t have to wait long for goals. Mario Balotelli headed home for the hosts four minutes into the game from Wesley Sneijder’s cross, but Felipe Caicedo equalized for the hosts just a minute later.