Brighton and Hove Albion began their UEFA Conference League campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory over Lithuania’s Kauno Zalgiris on Thursday. Meanwhile, AS Monaco secured a 2-1 win away to CSKA Sofia.

Georginio Rutter opened the scoring late in the first half at the Amex Stadium. He finished a cutback from Ibrahim Osman after a VAR review confirmed that the Ghanaian had kept the ball in play.

Brighton doubled their advantage just before half-time. This time, Rutter turned provider, setting up Jack Hinshelwood to score.

Rutter then grabbed his second goal of the night in the 53rd minute. Matt O’Riley completed the rout with a header, scoring his first goal in more than a year.

As a result, Brighton extended their winning streak in all competitions to five matches.

“I’m very happy to have two goals today, but more importantly is the three points. We are very happy to start the competition like this; we have a good side, we are in good shape at the moment, so we have to keep going.

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Brighton have also enjoyed an impressive start in front of goal. According to the report, only Barcelona and Bayern Munich had scored more than the Seagulls’ 29 goals among clubs in Europe’s biggest leagues this season.

Rutter credited the team’s collective performance for their success.

“It’s not every time one player. We are a good team, everybody scores, and everybody assists, so I think the atmosphere of the team at the moment is very good,” he said.

Brighton secured their place in the league phase by beating Norwegian side Tromso 4-0 in the play-off round in August. Their previous European campaign ended in the last 16 of the 2023-24 Europa League.

The English side will now aim to make a strong run in the Conference League. Chelsea and Crystal Palace are among the recent English winners, while West Ham United lifted the trophy in 2023.

Monaco Continue Strong Form in Bulgaria

Meanwhile, Monaco claimed a 2-1 away victory over CSKA Sofia, extending their positive run of form.

Germany Under-21 international Paris Brunner continued his scoring streak, finding the net for the seventh time in eight games. His early goal put Monaco ahead, before Ansu Fati added a second before half-time.

CSKA Sofia responded through Dutch forward Joel Zwarts. However, Monaco held on to secure all three points.

Ajax Suffer Defeat as Atalanta and Trabzonspor Win

Elsewhere, four-time European champions Ajax suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Hajduk Split.

Atalanta, by contrast, produced a comfortable performance to beat Pafos 3-1.

Mohamed Salah was also on target as Trabzonspor recorded a 4-2 away victory over Finland’s KuPS Kuopio.

Freiburg continued their strong form with a 3-2 win over Czech side Jablonec. The German club, described in the report as last season’s Europa League runners-up and current Bundesliga pacesetters, added another victory to their impressive run.

Hearts, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Danish side Nordsjaelland as Thursday’s Conference League action delivered goals and closely contested matches across Europe.