Six years. Six years waiting for a night like this, with scarves held aloft, a full Coliseum and the name of an opponent with real history up on the scoreboard. Getafe were back in Europe and you could feel it around the ground long before the ball started rolling. There was genuine excitement, the kind that cannot be faked.

And the side rose to the occasion. The opening minutes were a blue-and-white whirlwind. On 3, Satriano found himself one on one and could not finish it off; on 6 it was Femenía who was denied by Milosevic's hand; on 7, Ünal struck the post in a move the linesman ended up ruling out. Warning after warning. Until, on 9, Mojica appeared down the left to whip in a dangerous cross, the sort that only needs a touch, and Ünal volleyed it home. 1-0. And a special goal: for him, back home, and for a stadium whose bond with Ünal cannot be explained by statistics.

Getafe stayed on top. The first half-hour was theirs from start to finish: a siege of crosses, 64% possession and seven shots to one. A second goal looked far likelier than an equaliser. From then on, though, things evened out, and along came the 43rd minute. Seck got in behind the defence and steered it across Soria from an impossible position, with barely any angle, and the ball crept in. A bucket of cold water. It was Partizan's first shot on target of the night. Europe does not forgive: that is exactly what it means. Into the break with doubts.

The second half was a different story. The game levelled out, Getafe no longer arrived with the same clarity and Partizan began to settle. Jeh rattled an effort between the crossbar and Soria on 54, and on 61 the referee awarded Getafe a penalty that VAR had him withdraw two minutes later: Roganovic had touched the ball before he touched Mojica. Drop ball, and on with it.

And then came the decisive moment. Minute 68: Abqar halted a Partizan break with a needless foul in the opposition half, with plenty of defenders behind him, and picked up a second yellow. A serious error from the Moroccan, and the second sending-off in two matches for a Getafe defender for a foul eighty metres from his own goal. Bordalás will surely put that right, because tonight it could have proved very costly.

But this Getafe side has heart. With everything against them, twenty minutes plus stoppage time to play and a man down, they clung on to the game and competed the way only a Bordalás team knows how. On 74, Ünal hit the post with a trademark thunderbolt, the goalkeeper already beaten. And on 87 came the quality: the Turk conjured up the start of the move and laid it off to Satriano in what looked like a closed position, and the Uruguayan produced a backheel from another planet to serve the goal up on a plate for Andrés García. His first goal in Getafe colours. Bedlam in the stands.

The icing was still to come. Far from settling, Getafe went looking for a third and found it on 90: Mojica collected the ball on the edge of the area and struck it with everything he had, low, where Milosevic could not reach. Absolute mayhem. The Colombian turned in a magnificent night's work: an assist for the first and a stunning goal for the last.

There is still one match to go, and it will be in Belgrade, which promises to be hell. But this night leaves a wonderful taste and plenty of hope for the season. What was on show was a team that has taken a step up in quality, that adds to it the commitment which has always defined it and the competitive edge José Bordalás instils. This promises great joy ahead. The first instalment comes next Thursday.

COME ON, GETA!