Europa League 2025-26: Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 amid protests and arrests

Aston Villa defeated Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on Thursday in a Europa League match played under heightened security measures, with more than 700 police deployed to deal with possible protests.

Morgan Rogers put Ian Maatsen through in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled their lead after the hour, with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa’s third win from matches in the competition.

The match at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending the match because West Midlands Police deemed the match high risk and cited violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

The ban was widely criticized, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision.

Police had expressed concern about possible clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups, and six people were arrested before the match. This included a 21-year-old man arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, while a 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a dispersal order.

About 200 protesters, including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, gathered near a children’s playground next to Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand before the match.

Palestinian flags and banners calling for a boycott of Israel were also placed on the ground next to Trinity Road, amid pro-Gaza chants.

Police officers briefly formed a cordon to prevent a wave of protesters after an Israeli flag was reportedly waved by a passerby.

Before kick-off, five vehicles were driven around the ground carrying electronic billboards displaying messages opposing anti-Semitism.

Morgan Gibbs-White missed a penalty as Nottingham Forest were held 0-0 by Sturm Graz.

The Premier League club missed several opportunities to give its new manager Sean Dyche a second consecutive victory in Europe’s second competition.

Gibbs-White had a chance to give the visitors the lead in the first half, but his low shot from the spot was saved by goalkeeper Oliver Christensen.

In the final minute, Nicolás Domínguez hit the woodwork from outside the area and Forest had to settle for a draw which came after a 2-0 win over Porto two weeks ago in which Gibbs-White converted a penalty.

Danish club Midtjylland struck three times in the space of seven minutes and maintained a perfect record as they handed Celtic a 3–1 defeat, the Scottish club’s first under interim coach Martin O’Neill, and topped the table at the halfway stage of the league stage.

Martin Erlić broke the deadlock with a header past Kasper Schmeichel after the Danish international goalkeeper produced a number of fine saves in the 33rd. Midtjylland’s 19-year-old striker Mikel Gogorza provided the opener, doubling the lead himself just two minutes later with a curling shot. Djú Franculino added one more to put the result beyond doubt.

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Substitute Reo Hatate scored a penalty for Celtic late in the second half.

Celtic’s arch-rivals Rangers also lost as Roma recovered from successive defeats at home with a 2-0 win in Glasgow.

Matías Soulé headed in an early opener from close range before Lorenzo Pellegrini scored past Jack Butland to double the lead.

Rangers have lost all four games and are bottom of the table.

In Seville, Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony scored five minutes apart in the first half to give Real Betis Lyon its first defeat, 2-0. Braga was upset 4-3 at home by Genk, also for a first defeat.

Utrecht scored the first goal of the competition through Miguel Rodriguez and that was enough to earn a 1–1 draw against Porto, even though the Dutch team was reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute.

Salzburg achieved Go Ahead Eagles’ first victory at home with 2-0.

Pablo Durán scored twice and Sergi Dominguez scored an own goal as Celta Vigo won its fifth match in a row in all competitions, beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0.

Freiburg rallied for a 3-1 victory in Nice, the fourth straight defeat for the French side.

In addition, Stuttgart recorded a 2-0 home win over Feyenoord and PAOK defeated the 10-man Young Boys 4-0.

In the Conference League, Mainz rallied to beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the first match for the Italian club’s interim coach Daniele Galloppa, who took over after Stefano Pioli was sacked on Tuesday with the Viola bottom of Serie A. Fiorentina lost consecutive Conference League finals before reaching the semi-finals last season.

Ismaïla Sarr scored two and Maxence Lacroix added one for Crystal Palace on their way to a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar.

Published on November 7, 2025