Europa League: Franculino scores twice as Midjytlland maintain perfect start

Guinea-Bissau national team striker Franculino has now score five goals in his last three matches after providing two in FC Midtjylland’s dominant 3-0 UEFA Europa League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The rising talent is in the best form of his career and it showed as the Danish club dispatched the Israeli club champions with ease on Thursday to make it three wins from three matches in the continental competition’s league phase. The former Benfica youth product took advantage of slack defending from Maccabi, hosting the match in Serbia, to give the Danish visitors the lead just before halftime with a poacher’s finish.

Maccabi attempted to make more of an effort to be threatening on the attacking end but they were simply no match for the Danish champions. Former AFC Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing doubled the lead in the 71st minute and from then on, the Maccabi defense was an easy target for the prolific Franculion, who turned and finished after receiving a cross from Aral Simsir in the 84th minute.

He now has an excellent record of 14 goals and 4 assists in 21 appearances across all competitions this season. Midtjylland currently sit at the top of the Europa League table through three rounds and are second on the Danish Superliga table, two points back of leaders AGF Aarhus. They return to continental duty on November 6 with a test at home against Scotland’s Celtic FC.