Hearts faced a tough night in Lisbon as they suffered a 6-1 defeat against Benfica, effectively ending their hopes of advancing in the Europa League. After a challenging summer that saw them narrowly miss the William Hill Premiership title to Celtic, the Jambos were hopeful but ultimately succumbed to their fourth straight loss under new coach Wouter Vrancken.

Benfica took control early, scoring in the third minute, leading 3-0 at halftime, and adding three more in the second half. As a result, Hearts now face the possibility of a Conference League playoff against Rapid Vienna, who currently lead Paide 4-1 after their first leg.

In contrast, Hibernian secured a crucial 2-1 victory over Shkendija in their Conference League third qualifying round. Owen Elding put Hibs ahead in the 73rd minute, but Marko Gjorgjievski equalized shortly after. However, Warren O'Hora scored a dramatic winner in the 90th minute, giving Hibs a favorable position heading into the second leg in North Macedonia.

Meanwhile, Motherwell continued their strong performance under new manager Alfred Johansson, earning a 1-1 draw against HJK Helsinki in their first leg. Tawanda Maswanhise converted a penalty to give Motherwell the lead, but veteran striker Teemu Pukki equalized just after coming off the bench. Despite injuries to Alex Lowry and Regan Charles-Cook, Motherwell remains optimistic about their chances in the return leg, aiming for a potential matchup against Freiburg later this month.