Europa LeagueRacing Genk kicks off the Europa League campaign with a win against Rapid Wien. After a disappointing first half, the Limburgers made more claim to the victory in the second. For a long time they seemed to be heading for a draw, but Paul Onuachu scored the liberating 0-1 in extra time. Ghent also won by the smallest difference in the Conference League.
No Champions League, but Europa League for Genk this autumn. And so the Limburgers were allowed to travel to Austria on the first match day. Rapid Wien, which is not experiencing the best period in its own country, should in principle be a feasible card.
The first half was no more than a 45-minute study round. Apart from a shot by Paul Onuachu, there was little to note in the Allianz Stadium. Bongonda also shot a few meters wide, on the other side Vandevoordt had just as little work.
The input of Mike Trésor broke the match open. The flank attacker immediately fired two attempts at target, without success. Ito, too, felt better. Rapid Wien also had opportunities for the opening goal via Grüll and Kara. The match was broken up.
After about 70 minutes the ban seemed broken. Onuachu was the end station of a fine Genk attack, but Ito was sidelined in the build-up. After that, it kind of fell silent as far as the chances were concerned. The frustration grew at Genk, while at Rapid they piled up the number of cards. Five in all. It seemed to be a dry 0-0, until the golden duo Ito-Onuachu forced a goal in extra time. With a nice cross and an equally nice finish they put the 0-1 final score on the board.
Genk therefore takes the lead in their group. In the other game of Group H, West Ham won 0-2 against Dinamo Zagreb.
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