Brighton cruise in Conference League as Monaco win, Ajax lose

PARIS, France (AFP)—Brighton coasted to a 4-0 win over Lithuanian opponents Kauno Zalgiris to launch their UEFA Conference League bid Thursday, while Ligue 1 leaders Monaco earned a 2-1 victory at CSKA Sofia. Georginio Rutter slotted in a cutback from Ibrahim Osman as Brighton took the lead late in the first half at the Amex, with the goal awarded after a VAR review as the Ghanaian just managed to keep the ball in play. Rutter turned provider for Jack Hinshelwood as Brighton struck again on the stroke of half-time before the Frenchman netted his second of the night on 53 minutes. Matt O'Riley headed in his first goal in over a year to complete the rout and the Seagulls extended their winning run in all competitions to five matches. "I'm very happy to have two goals today, but more importantly is the three points. We are very happy to start the competition like this, we have a good side, we are in good shape at the moment, so we have to keep going," Rutter told TNT Sports. Only Barcelona and Bayern Munich have scored more than Brighton's 29 goals among clubs in Europe's biggest leagues this season. "It's not every time one player. We are a good team, everybody scores and everybody assists so I think the atmosphere of the team at the moment is very good," said Rutter. Brighton beat Norwegian side Tromso 4-0 in the play-off round in August to reach the league phase. Their only past taste of European football came when they reached the last 16 of the 2023-24 Europa League. However, they are viewed as favourites in the Conference League and will seek to become the third English winner in as many years after Chelsea and Crystal Palace. West Ham also lifted the trophy in 2023. In-form striker Paris Brunner scored for the seventh time in eight games as Monaco won in Bulgaria. The Germany Under-21 international fired Filipe Luis's team into an early lead and Ansu Fati added a second before half-time. CSKA pulled one back through Dutchman Joel Zwarts. Four-time European champions Ajax slid to a 2-1 loss at Hajduk Split, while Atalanta eased to a 3-1 victory over Pafos. Former Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was on target in Trabzonspor's 4-2 win away to Finland's KuPS Kuopio. Freiburg, last season's Europa League runners-up and surprise Bundesliga pacesetters this term, continued their fine form with a 3-2 win over Czech side Jablonec, while Hearts drew 1-1 with Danish outfit Nordsjaelland.