Both Apollon and AEK Larnaca drop Europa League openers
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1
| Lazio | 2 - 1 | Apollon Limassol |
|---|---|---|
| Alberto 14' Immobile 84' |
Zelaya 87' |
Both Cypriot representatives in the UEFA Europa League played valiantly, but came up short, as Apollon fell away to Lazio 2:1, and AEK Larnaca dropped a 1:0 decision at home to FC Zurich.
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Apollon Limassol travelled to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to visit Lazio for their UEFA Europa League opener. Lazio got the start they wanted on a rush in the 14th minute as a give and go play ended with Felipe Caicedo making a nifty back heel to Luis Alberto who beat a helpless Bruno Vale to fire Lazio into the lead. The hosts came knocking again less than 5 minutes later, and Caicedo had space, but his execution on the finish was lacking, and the ball flew wide. Later, Caicedo left the ball for Riza Durmisi who had a go, but Vale got a good read on it and kept it out, limiting the damage to a 1:0 halftime lead for Lazio.
In the second half, Apollon found their bearing a little bit, and in the 67th minute, a Joao Pedro free kick found the head of Fotis Papoulis, but his header was just barely off target. A free kick from even further out was taken by Giorgos Vasiliou, which was very well taken and even scared Lazio goalkeeper Silvio Proto, but the ball hit the outside of the post and stayed out. Two minutes later in the 83rd minute, Caicedo had the ball in the Apollon box, and passed it to Ciro Immobile. Immobile looked to give the ball back to Caicedo, but he was taken down in the box by Pedro, and a penalty was given. Pedro protested but on replay appeared to have just mistimed his tackle, preventing Caicedo from receiving the pass. Immobile took the penalty, and while Vale guessed correctly, the ball was just out of his reach, and Lazio doubled their advantage. The visitors did not give up, and on an 87th minute corner, got on the scoreboard as the ball ricocheted to Emilio Zelaya who slid the ball past a surprised Proto to cut the deficit in half. But instead in the 90th minute, it was the hosts bearing down as Immobile sent Senad Lulic in on goal alone. Lulic got around Vale, but took an extra touch, leaving time for Hector Yuste to race back and save the ball off the line. Nonetheless, Lazio hung on for the 2:1 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS: LAZIO - APOLLON LIMASSOL
| AEK Larnaca | 0 - 1 | Zurich |
|---|---|---|
| Kolloli 61 (P) 61' |
Meanwhile, AEK Larnaca hosted FC Zurich. Though their stadium, the Giorgos Karapatakis AEK Arena in Larnaca is up to UEFA standards, AEK have chosen to play their home matches in this group stage at the larger GSP Stadium in Nicosia, the Cypriot capital about 40km north of Larnaca. The visitors had the first good chance in the 15th minute as Stephen Odey dribbled down the wing, made a nifty move past Daniel Mojsov, and took a shot, but missed to the far post. 4 minutes later, AEK went on the attack and the ball found its way to Igor Silva, who hit it first time from distance, and his powerful strike only narrowly missed the net. They came again, and Tete seemed to have Acoran wide open, but Victor Palsson with a perfect sliding tackle prevented Acoran from pulling the trigger. Jagne Pa Modou took a long free kick for Zurich, but Tono Ramirez saw it all the way, and made a routine save. Apostolos Giannou got away from three Zurich defenders to fire off a shot, but Yanick Brecher made the save on him. Plenty of two-way traffic, but no scoring in the first half.
On the hour mark, Antonio Marchesano attempted to cross the ball into the box, but it hit the arm of Mojsov and a penalty was correctly given for Zurich. Benjamin Kololli stepped up to take the penalty, and got Ramirez to go the wrong way, to give his side the 1:0 lead. Kololli then exuberantly celebrated, hopped over the the board advertising, and fell into a trench separating the field from the stands. The hosts ramped up the pressure after that, and Ivan Trickovski sent in a cross that Brecher acrobatically punched away. The ball came to Silva, but once again, his powerful strike from distance narrowly missed. Then Kololli found Salim Khelifi in some space, and he had an attempt on goal, but Ramirez made the save to keep his side in it. In the 84th minute, the hosts got some help, as Pa Modou took his second yellow card of the match and got sent off. With an extra man and 5 minutes of stoppage time, AEK desperately sought the equalizer. With plenty of bodies forward, the ball was in a maze of players. Finally Giannou got an open look, but he shanked the ball wide, and AEK came up short, a 1:0 win for FC Zurich.
HIGHLIGHTS: AEK LARNACA - ZURICH
