The key numbers from the 18 games in matchday four of the Europa League

7 - Besiktas' 2-1 victory over Malmo in the only Wednesday match saw them win consecutive games in the Europa League proper for the first time in seven and a half years. The last time they did so was against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the round of 32 in the 2016/17 edition. The Turks reached the quarter-finals of that edition - the furthest they have ever gone in the competition.

6 - Union Saint-Gilloise earned a point from their 1-1 draw against AS Roma in a game where both sides could have used a win. For the Belgians, the result made it six games unbeaten in Europa League home games, including qualifiers, with Bayer Leverkusen being the last side to prevail in Brussels in the 2022/23 quarter-finals.

8 - The goal Rangers scored in Greece during their 1-1 draw against Olympiakos took them to eight goals in this season's league phase. That figure matches the number of goals they managed to score last fall in the group stage, from six games. They only found the net six times at this stage of the competition in 2021/22, when they reached the final.

50 - Perhaps the 2-2 draw between OGC Nice and Twente, where the French side came from two goals down to grab a point, was a fair result. The match stats were fairly even in the key areas, none more evidenced in the possession department, where both teams had 50% of the ball throughout the match.

9 - Inaki Williams and Nico Serrano struck within two minutes in the second half to complete an Athletic Bilbao comeback against Ludogorets, defeating the Bulgarians 2-1 away. That was the Razgrad club's ninth European match versus Spanish opposition, and they have lost every single one. 

28 - Galatasaray defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at home in what was a huge result for the defending Turkish champions. Throughout the 90 minutes, the hosts mustered 28 shots, the most in any match in the league phase. For reference, Elfsborg have the same number of efforts on goal across their four games. Galatasaray have the most shots in the competition so far with 92, and average of 23 per game.

15 - FCSB scored in each half in a 2-0 victory over FC Midtjylland, taking the Romanian champions onto nine points from four matches. It was their second clean sheet of the league phase. Only once before have the side from Bucharest ever had multiple clean sheets during a Europa League group phase, which came 15 years ago in the competition's first season under its new name.

46 - Elfsborg and Sporting Braga finished all square (1-1) in Sweden courtesy of a late goal from Emil Holten. Through four games, the hosts have had the fewest attempts on goal. However, they have been quite efficient; not only have they found the back of the net in all of their games so far, but of the 28 shots they have attempted thus far, 46% of them have been on target. Only Twente (47%) and Ajax (52%) are higher.

17 - A narrow 1-0 success over Slavia Praha took Eintracht Frankfurt onto 10 points, virtually securing a place in the knockout rounds. Moreover, Die Adler are now 17 games without defeat in the Europa League, with the last team to get the better of them being FC Basel back in 2019/20 at the round of 16.

1 - Qarabag stretched their unbeaten run against Norwegian teams to six (3-3-0) following an impressive 2-1 away win at Bodo/Glimt. While the Azeris have never been beaten by an Eliteserien club, that was their first time prevailing on Norwegian soil, having drawn 2-2 last year against Molde, and 0-0 versus Rosenborg 15 years ago.

21 - AZ managed to hold their nerve and defeat Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce 3-1 at home. The result was their 21st win in the Europa League proper under the competition's current guise. Few have had more success than the Dutch side, who have become regulars in the Europa League as a result.

12 - It is 12 Europa League games without a win for Dynamo Kyiv, who suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Ferencvaros in Hamburg. Their last victory in the competition came in the 2020/21 season, when they beat Club Brugge 1-0 in the round of 32. They have only avoided defeat once since. The Ukrainians are also the only team in the league phase who have yet to score.

5 - Thursday marked the first time that Hoffenheim failed to win a Europa League group phase game at home. However, their late equalizer in their 2-2 draw against Lyon made it five games unbeaten at the PreZero Arena at this stage of the competition. Their only home loss in the competition came in the round of 32 in their only previous appearance, back in 2020/21 to Molde.

4 - Lazio, making their record 11th appearance in the Europa League proper, scored late on to beat Porto 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico. The result - combined with other games - leaves the Biancocelesti as the only side left to have a perfect record four games in. It is the fifth time that they have reached 12 points in a UEL group phase, and first since 2017/18.

10 - Manchester United grabbed a 2-0 win over PAOK in their game, with the Red Devils finally claiming a victory in the competition this term at the fourth time of asking. It was also the 10th time that United came out on top against Greek opposition, improving their record to 10-2-1 overall. They also maintained a perfect home record versus clubs from Greece (7-0-0).

2 - Like United, Viktoria Plzen grabbed their first win of the Europa League after drawing their first three games. Substitute Daniel Vasulin's 90th minute goal saw the Czech side beat Real Sociedad 2-1. Plzen claimed just their second win against Spanish opposition. Their only previous win before Thursday was a 1-0 success over Atletico Madrid at this stage of the UEL 12 years ago.

3 - RFS left it late, but an own goal from Anderlecht's Moussa N'Diaye allowed the 2024 Latvian domestic double winners to pick up their second point in this fall's league phase, with the match ending 1-1. That is the same number of points they earned in the Conference League two years ago, with this being the third time that the Riga-based side have been able to earn a result at home in a group phase.

13 - Ajax dazzled in a dominant 5-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Johan Cruyff ArenA, notching their tally up to 13 goals in the UEL league phase after just four games. Not only do they have the most goals of the 36 teams in the competition, but it is the most that the club have ever scored in a Europa League group phase in what is their fifth appearance.