Brighton enjoyed a comprehensive first victory in Europe as a goal in either half from Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati eased them to a 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amex Stadium.
It took until the final minutes of a first half that Brighton had dominated for the breakthrough to arrive, Pedro tapping home on the rebound, as Ajax – second-bottom of the Eredivisie – did little more than look to preserve parity in the Europa League clash.
The Dutch side have endured their worst start to a league season and, after sacking manager Maurice Steijn on Monday, they went down with barely a whimper as Fati's goal early in the second half showed the gulf between Roberto De Zerbi’s team and the four-time European champions.
Ireland forward Evan Ferguson had to make do with 15 minutes off the bench but was assured by Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi earlier this week that he will be important to the team, amid a spate of injuries.
Elsewhere, West Ham's unbeaten European record was reduced to ruins in Athens as they crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Olympiacos.
The Hammers came a cropper in the shadow of the Acropolis as they suffered a first loss in UEFA competitions in 18 matches.
David Moyes, who led his side to the Europa Conference League title last season, made seven changes for their Europa League Group A clash in the Greek capital.
But his selection backfired as a soft goal from Olympiacos captain Kostas Fortounis and an own goal from stand-in Hammers skipper Angelo Ogbonna brought their undefeated run to a halt despite Lucas Paqueta's late reply.
A victory would have all but secured West Ham's passage into the knockout stages but now they find themselves with work to do, lying level with Freiburg at the top of the group with Olympiacos two points behind.
Rangers played second fiddle to Sparta Prague for most of their Europa League clash in the Czech Republic before leaving with a point in a goalless draw.
Philippe Clement's tenure as Gers boss began with a convincing 4-0 win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday but he had to rely on keeper Jack Butland to keep the home side at bay in the first half of the Group C match in which the visitors lacked zip.
There was a marked improvement in the final 20 minutes where Brazilian substitute Danilo hit the bar but Sparta will wonder how they did not win this game early on.
Rangers beat Real Betis 1-0 at Ibrox on match day one before a shock 2-1 defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus and are now on four points ahead of Sparta Prague’s visit to Ibrox on 9 November.
Romelu Lukaku scored in his 14th consecutive Europa League game as Roma beat Slavia Prague 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Young midfielder Edoardo Bove sent Roma on their way with a stunning strike after just 43 seconds.
Lukaku then drove the ball high into the net after 17 minutes as Jose Mourinho's side made it three wins from three games in the competition, while Sheriff Tiraspol and Servette drew 1-1 in the same group.
Atalanta stay top of their section after Luis Muriel scored twice in a 2-2 draw away to 10-man Sturm Graz.
Sporting Lisbon drew 1-1 at Rakow Czestochowa despite losing Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres to a red card after only eight minutes.
Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Qarabag 5-1 and Group H rivals Molde won by the same scoreline against Hacken.
Liverpool seized control of Europa League Group E as they breezed to a 5-1 win over Toulouse at Anfield to go five points clear after three games.
Union Saint-Gilloise beat LASK 2-1 and Rennes were also 2-1 victors at Panathinaikos.
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