Europa League: Dovbyk penalty gives Roma 1-0 win against Kyiv; Ajax, Sociedad and Frankfurt register victories

Dovbyk gave Roma the lead in the 23rd minute, converting a penalty after Taras Mykhavko was penalised for pulling Tommaso Baldanzi’s shirt.

Artem Dovbyk scores a goal from the penalty spot for AS Roma in the Europa League. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Artem Dovbyk’s first-half penalty earned AS Roma a 1-0 home victory over Dynamo Kyiv in an uneventful Europa League match on Thursday.

Dovbyk gave Roma the lead in the 23rd minute, converting a penalty after Taras Mykhavko was penalised for pulling Tommaso Baldanzi’s shirt.

The visitors went close to equalising on several occasions, missing multiple opportunities, and had a goal disallowed just before the break for offside.

Roma took control in the second half and continued to push forward in search of a second goal, controlling the majority of possession.

The hosts nearly found the net when Eldor Shomurodov fired a shot wide from a tight angle in the closing minutes.

Ajax, Sociedad and Frankfurt register victories

Ajax eased to a 3-0 win over Qarabag, which had two players sent off, to move provisionally to the top of the standings thanks to goals from Kenneth Taylor, Chuba Akpom and a Wout Weghorst penalty.

Qarabag midfielder Julio Romao received an early red card for a foul on Mika Godts, while Elvin Jafarguliyev was sent off for a second booking just before the end.

Real Sociedad beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 in Belgrade thanks to goals from Jon Pacheco and Sergio Gomez. Striker Dor Turgeman grabbed a late consolation for the host nine minutes from time before teammate Osher Davida was sent off for a second booking just before full-time.

Eintracht Frankfurt overcame a surprisingly tricky challenge to secure a 1-0 home victory against Latvia’s FK RFS, with midfielder Hugo Larsson scoring the decisive goal in the 79th minute.