A late Jan Novak brace saw MFK Kosice battle back from 3-1 down to earn a draw against Roma in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off tie.

Marko Milinkovic had opened the scoring for the Slovakian outfit but the Italian giants turned the match on its head thanks to two goals from captain Francesco Totti, including one from the penalty spot, plus a third from Jeremy Menez. But Novak notched two goals in the last 20 minutes, the first from the spot, to ensure there will be all to play for in the Eternal City in next week's second leg.

Roma's arch rivals Lazio had a much more comfortable evening, putting themselves in pole position for a place in the group phase with a 3-0 triumph over Elfsborg. Aleksandar Kolarov, Mauro Zarate and Stefano Mauri were the men on target. 

Galatasaray and Ajax all but booked their places in the group phase with 5-0 romps in the home legs of their respective ties against Levadia Tallinn and Slovan Bratislava. Kader Keita struck a brace with Milan Baros (penalty) and Harry Kewell also on target before a Vitali Leitan own goal completed the rout for Gala.

Luis Suarez struck four goals for Martin Jol's Ajax with Mitchell Donald putting the icing on the cake during injury time. Pablo Hernandez, David Villa and Joaquin were on target in Valencia's 3-0 victory at Norwegian side Stabaek.

A Ruiz Gonzalez double helped Twente overturn an early deficit to prevail 3-1 against FK Qarabag in Enschede. Andre-Pierre Gignac's double helped guide Toulouse to a 3-1 win at Trabzonspor, while Lille were 2-1 winners at Genk.

Hertha Berlin have it all to do next week after Nemanja Pejcinovic's own goal handed Brondby a 2-1 win and the initiative ahead of the second leg. Claudio Pizarro celebrated his permanent move to Werder Bremen from Chelsea this week by scoring in the German side's 6-3 win over FK Aktobe. Naldo notched twice with Sebastian Boenisch, Hugo Almeida and Mesut Ozil (penalty) also among the goals.

Oscar de Marcos and Fernando Llorente struck in the final five minutes to give Athletic Bilbao a 3-2 win over Tromso. Luciano Figueroa bagged a double to also ease Genoa to a 3-1 triumph over Odense. Goals from Olexiy Gai, Ilsinho and Vasyl Kobin earned last season's UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk a 3-0 victory at Sivasspor.