Rafiu Adekunle Durosinmi was on target as Viktoria Plzen secured their first win of this season’s UEFA Europa League campaign with a 3-0 victory over Malmö. The match, which was the first-ever meeting between the two sides, was marked by drama as three red cards were issued.
Plzen went into the game under caretaker manager Marek Bakos, following the dismissal of Miroslav Koubek after their weekend defeat to Zlín. Malmö, playing their 10th match against Czech opposition, had previously won three of their nine encounters.
The Swedish champions almost took the lead when Hugo Bolin’s effort struck the inside of the post, but it was Plzen who stayed in control. Malmö’s problems grew worse when Lasse Berg Johnsen received a second yellow card, reducing them to 10 men. Moments later, Durosinmi reacted quickly to fire home a rebound and put Plzen ahead.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute when Karel Spacil squeezed the ball in at the back post after Robin Olsen had saved a header from Matej Vydra.
Both sides were then reduced to 10 men as Merchas Doski was sent off for a foul on Adrian Skogmar in the 57th minute. Malmö’s frustration continued when Daníel Tristan Gudjohnsen was shown a red card in stoppage time, leaving them with nine men.
After drawing their opening group game 1-1 against Ferencváros, Plzen now move up to four points and into the qualification spots at this early stage of the Europa League.