APOEL in deep hole with emphatic loss to Basel

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - ROUND OF 32 (LEG 1)

APOEL made life difficult for themselves with a heavy 3-0 loss to FC Basel in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout tie.

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The reigning Cypriot champions have a mountain to climb after a comprehensive loss at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. An early away goal scored by Raoul Petretta put Basel in the box seat, before Valentin Stocker and Arthur Cabral added further damage in the second half. 

Next week, the second leg of the Round of 32 tie will take place in Switzerland, with APOEL requiring at least three goals to maintain hope of somehow qualifying for the next phase of the Europa League. 

THE MATCH

APOEL looked to make an early statement as Musa Al-Taamari let fly from distance, but the ball sailed over the bar

Instead, Basel took an immediate initiative in the tie, as Eray Comert played a long ball to Petretta, who was able to bring it under control and fire past Vid Belec.

APOEL tried to respond as Uros Matic got into some space, but his shot was blocked in front by Omar Alderete. Al-Taamari got to the rebound first, but his ensuing effort whistled over the crossbar with the goalkeeper scrambling. 

At the other end, Silvan Widmer looked to double the lead for the visitors, but Belec made the save. Belec pulled off another important stop on Arthur Cabral shortly before the half-time break.

Nevertheless, Basel soon doubled their advantage in the second stanza, with Stocker getting the better of Belec.

Later on, Al-Taamari again was looking for a goal for APOEL, with the Jordanian striker curling a shot wide of the mark. 

APOEL were made to pay for that miss.

Receiving a pass from Petretta, Cabral took the ball under his spell, lashing beyond Belec to surely put the tie beyond APOEL with a third away goal.

In the closing stages, APOEL did miss a couple of promising opportunities, but Basel rather comfortably saw the game out.

LINEUPS

APOEL(Bledar Kola): 27. Vid Belec(GK), 10. Tomas De Vincenti(Captain)(‘71 17. Antonio Jakolis), 11. Musa Al-Taamari, 14. Uros Matic, 20. Andrija Pavlovic(‘56 9. Linus Hallenius), 29. Praxitelis Vouros, 30. Giorgos Merkis, 31. Mike Jensen, 44. Nikolas Ioannou(‘80 42. Christos Wheeler), 91. Dragan Mihajlovic, 95. Alef

Basel(Marcel Koller): 1. Jonas Omlin(GK), 4. Eray Comert, 5. Silvan Widmer, 6. Omar Alderete, 10. Samuele Campo, 14. Valentin Stocker, 15. Blas Riveros, 20. Fabian Frei(‘84 22. Orjes Bunjaku), 28. Raoul Petretta(‘80 19. Afimico Pululu), 34. Taulant Xhaka, 98. Arthur Cabral(‘74 99. Kemal Ademi)

By: Andreas Mantzas

Image source: Sport FM Cyprus

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