Braga have opened their Europa League campaign with a hard-fought win away to Slovan Liberec.

Sporting almost took the lead in the early stages after Rui Fonte found the target, only to be denied by a solid stop from Tomas Koubek.

Minutes before the interval, Slovan nearly broke the deadlock themselves after Josef Sural brought a save out of Matheus Magalhaes.

Braga pushed for a goal soon after the restart as both Andre Pinto and Alan were thwarted by Koubek.

However, the Czech stopper was unable to keep out Rafa Silva's effort on the hour mark after Fonte crossed for the midfielder. Despite the attentions of three defenders, the 22-year-old found the back of the net.

Milan Kerbr came close to netting a late equaliser with two strikes, which were turned away by Magalhaes, but Braga were able to see out a first victory in Group F.

Written by
Chris O'Keefe