TURIN, Italy, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Juventus dropped their first points of the Europa League campaign after coming from behind to draw 2-2 with visitors Rennes on Thursday.
Benfica went top of the standings with a 4-1 demolition of Omonia in Cyprus, after Bayer Leverkusen had also moved onto nine points with a 2-0 win at OFI in Crete.
Bournemouth also maintained their perfect start with a 3-0 victory over 10-man AC Milan. Olympiacos and Ferencvaros made it three wins from three as well, beating Sparta Prague 1-0 and Torreense 4-1 respectively.
Zeki Celik gave Juventus a fifth-minute lead, but the French side kept their composure and were level 10 minutes later when Jordan international Musa Al-Taamari finished from close range for his first goal in the competition.
Rennes then stunned the hosts with a Boulaye Dia penalty two minutes before the break as the Italians struggled to create chances until Nick Woltemade equalised from the spot in the 67th minute.
The German forward twice went close to scoringagain as Luciano Spalletti’s team upped the pressure, and Juve thought they had won it in the 88th minute when Jhon Lucumi found the net from close range, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The draw at least spared Juventus a second successive defeat following Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to Lazio in Serie A.
JonasHofmann made the most of his surprise start for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring twice in three minutes to give the Bundesliga side a 2-0 victory at OFI.
OFI, who stunned Hoffenheim 2-0 in their opening league-phase match, were twice caught napping by Hofmann, who was added to the side following an injury to Martin Terrier.
Bournemouth took control against Milan through first-half penalties from Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier before Amine Adli added a third in the 84th minute. Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off in the 28th minute.
Hoffenheim beat Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 to claim their first win of the competition, but the victory was overshadowed by an injury to Lyon defender Steeve Kango. Kango fell awkwardly after an aerial challenge and was carried off on a stretcher wearing a neck brace before being taken to hospital for checks.
(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis)
