Midtjylland go top after beating Genk as Forest and Braga also claim victories

HERNING, Denmark, Dec 11 : Midtjylland extended their strong Europa League form on Thursday with a 1-0 home win over Belgian side K.R.C. Genk to rise to the top of the table.

The Danish side moved to the summit with 15 points from six matches, with the remainder of the round being played later on Thursday. Genk sit just outside the top eight, in the knockout phase play-off positions on 10 points.

Midtjylland scored after 17 minutes when Dario Osorio unleashed a left-footed strike from distance which Genk goalkeeper Hendrik Van Crombrugge spilled. Cho Gue-sung reacted sharply, tucking in the loose ball.

The second half was a far quieter affair, with both teams settling into largely passive play with few big chances as the clock ran out. 

Arnaud Kalimuendo scored for Nottingham Forest in the 52nd minute in Utrecht but the hosts levelled late on through a Mike van der Hoorn header. Just before stoppage time, Igor Jesus stepped up to snatch the winner, securing a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

Three goals in seven minutes delivered a win for Real Betis at Dinamo Zagreb, starting with an own goal from Sergi Dominguez. Rodrigo Riquelme and Antony added two quick strikes to finish the flurry just before halftime and the match ended 3-1 after a late goal from Niko Galesic.

Braga secured an important 1-0 victory away to Nice, with a first-half strike from Pau Victor proving enough to see them home with all three points.

VfB Stuttgart eased into a 4-1 win at home against Maccabi Tel-Aviv thanks to goals from Lorenz Assignon, Tiago Tomas, Maximilian Mittelstadt and Josha Vagnoman.

Rangers’ struggles in the competition continued despite an early goal by Bojan Miovski putting them ahead at Ferencvaros. In the second half, the hosts turned