Super Eagles eligible Bukayo Saka was again irrepressible form to help Arsenal eke out a slim 1-0 victory against Olympiakos in Greece.
The England-born player of Nigerian heritage set up Alexandre Lacazette for a crucial away goal in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie.
The match was heading towards a drab goalless draw when the Frenchman tucked in Saka’s low cross from close range in the 81st minute.
The assist was Saka’s fifth in the competition – the most of any player in the tournament excluding qualifiers – and his ninth assist for the Gunners in all competitions – the most at the club.
The return leg is at Emirates Stadium on Thursday, 27 February.
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers made their second-leg against Spanish side Espanyol little more than a formality with a 4-0 spanking at the Molineux.
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota scored a hat-trick while compatriot Ruben Neves scored a thumping 30-yard scorcher to leave Nuno Espirito Santo’s side with a foot in the last 16.
Meanwhile, last season’s Champions League semifinalists Ajax are in danger of crashing out of the competition after they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Getafe in Spain.
Italian giants AS Roma will take a slim 1-0 lead to Belgium after Carles Perez scored to give them victory over Gent at the Stadio Olimpico.
Eintracht Frankfurt put themselves in a commanding position to progress to the Round of 16 with a 4-1 hammering of Austrian side Salzburg while Swiss side Basel are virtually through to the next round following an impressive 3-0 win at Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia.
FULL EUROPA LEAGUE R32 RESULTS
Sporting CP 3-1 İstanbul Başakşehir
Ludogorets 0-2 Inter Milan
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 Salzburg
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Benfica
Getafe 2-0 Ajax
Copenhagen 1-1 Celtic
CFR Cluj 1-1 Sevilla
Club Brugge 1-1 Manchester United
Wolves 4-0 Espanyol
Wolfsburg 2-1 Malmö
Roma 1-0 Gent
Rangers 3-2 Braga
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Porto
APOEL 0-3 Basel
Olympiacos 0-1 Arsenal
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 LASK
