Samsun: Turkish side Samsunspor lost their first leg Europa League round of 16 tie at home to Spanish visitors Rayo Vallecano 3-1 in a match played last night at the "Neutral 19 Mayis" stadium. This result makes the Turkish team's task difficult when they travel to Spain for the second leg on March 19 at the "De Vallecas" stadium, where they will need to win by three goals to reach the quarterfinals. According to National Iraqi News Agency, Brazilian Alemao opened the scoring for Rayo Vallecano in the 15th minute, but Chad's Marius Mouandilmadji equalized for Samsunspor in the 21st minute. Álvaro García restored the Spanish side's lead in the 40th minute after a quick counter-attack and a decisive pass from Essi Balazón, before Alemao sealed the victory for Vallecano with his second goal of the match and his team's third in the 78th minute. In other matches, AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands defeated their Czech visitors Sparta Prague 2-1, Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine beat their Polish hosts Lech Poznan 3-1, and Strasbourg of France edged out their Croatian hosts Rijeka 2-1.