Author: Amrit Santlani
There were plenty of dramatic games in the second round of the UEFA Conference League. Here’s an analysis of the most interesting of them.
Aston Villa – Zrinjski Mostar – 1:0
Aston Villa had a nine-shot advantage over their opponents (27-3), but only managed to snatch victory in the 94th minute. Team captain John McGinn stood out. Diego Carlos played 82 minutes for the winners, while Douglas Luiz came on in the second half.
Fiorentina – Ferencvaros – 2:2
The visitors opened the scoring in the 25th minute and, in the 50th minute, Cissé doubled the lead after a corner. In the 54th minute, Ben Romdhane could have put the hosts in a desperate situation, but he hit the post. This served as a cold shower for Fiorentina. In the 62nd minute, Bonaventura shot high, in the 64th minute, Gonzalez hit the post – a goal was in the making. And in the 66th minute, Barak scored. Kouame’s goal in the 79th minute was disallowed, but in injury time Ikone equalized: 2-2. Incidentally, Fiorentina played their two matches in the tournament with exactly that scoreline.
PAOK – Eintracht F – 2:1
The hosts’ goal in the 16th minute was disallowed for offside. But ten minutes later, PAOK took the lead. Zivkovic cleverly curled in a low free-kick to make it 1-0. In the 68th minute, Marmos made it 1-1 and, in the 83rd minute, his teammate was a little unlucky: Shkiri hit the crossbar of the PAOK goal. In the 92nd minute, Koulierakis gave the hosts the win. Taison played 77 minutes for PAOK, while Tuta played for the visitors.
Spartak Trnava – Fenerbahçe – 1:2
Joshua King scored twice for the Turkish side at the end of the second half, in the 70th and 81st minutes. The hosts scored in the 88th minute. Note that after extra time, the referee disallowed two more Fenerebahce goals for offside. Two Brazilians played for the Turkish team in this match: Bekao and Fred.
Nordsjaelland – Ludogorets – 7:1
Elsewhere in the group, Nordsjælland inflicted a crushing defeat on Bulgaria’s Ludogorets – 7:1. Not even the presence of three Brazilians in their line-up, Vidal, Seco and Naressi, helped the visitors.