Apollon fall to Eintracht again, AEK held in Bulgaria
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4
| Apollon Limassol | 2 - 3 | Eintracht Frankfurt |
|---|---|---|
| Zelaya 70',(P) 90'+4 |
Jovic 17' Haller 55' Gacinovic 58' |
Apollon rallied but fell just short in a 3:2 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt while AEK Larnaca settled for a scoreless draw in Bulgaria against Ludogorets.
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Apollon hosted Eintracht Frankfurt in UEFA Europa League action, once again using the GSP Stadium in Nicosia in place of the Tsirion Stadio in Limassol, which does not currently meet UEFA standards. Eintracht were definitely the more prepared team, and in the 17th minute, a nice passing play set up Luka Jovic, who fired the ball past Tasos Kissas to give the visitors an early lead. Eintracht continued to dominate, but Apollon managed to limit the damage to a 1:0 halftime deficit, and stay in the match.
However, things only got worse for them as the second half started. Mijat Gacinovic sent in a cross that was directed past Kissas by Sebastian Haller in the 55th minute to double the Eintracht advantage. Then Gacinovic got himself on the board when he intercepted a pass from Chambos Kyriakou and beat Kissas to the near post just three minutes later. Apollon did not give up, even down 3:0, however. They got one back in the 71st minute, as Adrian Sardinero delivered a free kick from the side, that Emilio Zelaya won the header on, and he hit the net past Kevin Trapp to give Apollon some life. They got more help in the form of a red card, a second yellow card against Marc Stendera. They took advantage enough to earn a penalty, which Zelaya converted, but time ran out, and Eintracht Frankfurt hung on for a 3:2 win. Apollon remain on one point, still 3rd in the group, but 8 points adrift of Lazio, and 11 points adrift of Eintracht, who lead the group.
| Ludogorets | 0 - 0 | AEK Larnaca |
|---|---|---|
AEK Larnaca visited Ludogorets, at Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad, Bulgaria. There wasn’t much action in the first half. Cosmin Moti took a free kick that Tono Ramirez kept out, that was the best chance for the hosts. Ramirez also denied Wanderson shortly before the half. Igor Silva had a shot deflected by Ivan Trickovski, that the Ludogorets keeper Renan did well to save. Tono Ramirez and Renan had all the answers in the first half, and the score was 0:0 at the break.
The second half was pretty similar. Both sides ratcheted up the pressure, desperately seeking a winner that never came. Apostolos Giannou forced a save from Renan. Moti had another good chance but was denied by the woodwork. Then Moti improved his aim after getting away from Silva, but Ramirez cleaned up the mess and made the save. In the end, both sides cancelled each other out in more ways than one. The 0:0 draw also results in neither side having a chance to advance beyond the UEFA Europa League group stage. Both have 2 points, AEK are last in the group, they are both 7 points back of FC Zurich and Bayer Leverkusen.
HIGHLIGHTS: LUDOGORETS - AEK LARNACA
