Troy Parrott was among the goals as AZ Alkmaar claimed a commanding 4-1 win in the first leg of their Europa League play-off round tie against Turkish champions Galatasarary at the AFAS Stadion.
The Republic of Ireland international has enjoyed a positive first season with AZ in the Dutch Eredivisie having spent last season on loan at relegated Excelsior Rotterdam.
The Dubliner converted from the penalty spot on 37 minutes to make it 2-1 and that goal marked his fourth in this season's Europa League and 17th in all competitions. His 12 league goals also make him the second highest scorer in the Eredivisie across the current campaign.
Sven Mijnans gave AZ the lead on 12 minutes before Roland Sallai levelled for Galatasaray eight minutes later.
After Parrott ensured AZ would have a half-time advantage, Galatasaray suffered a blow upon the resumption when Kaan Ayhan was sent off for a second yellow card.
The home side made the most of that as Jordy Clasie and David Moeller Wolfe added further second-half goals to leave them well in control before the return leg in Istanbul next week.
Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros beat Czech visitors Viktoria Plzen to close in on a last-16 place.
The record 35-times Hungarian champions, winners of the last six domestic league titles, hit the front on 23 minutes via Mohammad Abu Fani and kept a clean sheet to seal a first-leg win at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.
Republic of Ireland all-time record goalscorer Keane has been in charge of Ferencvaros since early January and the win over Viktoria Plzen marked a sixth match of his tenure with a record of two draws and a defeat domestically and two wins and a loss in Europe.
Elsewhere, Francisco Moura's second-half strike earned hosts Porto a 1-1 draw against 10-man AS Roma.
Zeki Celik put Roma ahead in the dying seconds of the first half before Moura equalised when his shot deflected off a defender past goalkeeper Mile Svilar in the 67th minute.
Claudio Ranieri's Roma were dealt a further blow five minutes later when they were left with 10 men as Bryan Cristante was handed a second yellow card.
Twente Enschede of the Netherlands earned a last-gasp 2-1 home win over Bodo/Glimt and Romania's Steaua Bucharest fought back to beat Greek champions PAOK 2-1.
Earlier in the day, Turkey's Fenerbahce – managed by Jose Mourinho – claimed a resounding 3-0 home win over Belgian side Anderlecht, while Ajax Amsterdam and Real Sociedad also secured first-leg leads.
Additional reporting: Reuters
