By Eden Roitfarb and Yossi Medina
Another great night of the Europa Conference League ended with eight clubs reaching the next stage. Here are the best moments from the second leg of the knockout play-offs.
Basel is back
After their first leg defeat in Turkey, Basel tried to reclaim their place for the next stage against Trabzonspor.
They scored first early, but in the 61st minute everything almost changed with a Stefano Denswil equaliser - but VAR disallowed the goal.
In the 76th minute it was Andi Zeqiri that scored the second for Basel, putting them through to the next stage of the competition.
⚽️ Andi Zeqiri the match-winner for Basel 🥳#UECL | @FC_Basel_en pic.twitter.com/YKj0q9uStt
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) February 23, 2023
Lech saved their home record
Lech Poznan haven't been defeated this season at home in European competitions - seven matches have seen six wins, including one in a decisive group stage match against Villarreal
After a goalless draw in Norway against Bodo/Glimt, the Poles were looking for a spot in the next stage.
In that case they could trust one player, Mikael Ishak, who scored his fifth goal in the competition.
Lech Poznan won 1-0 and qualified for the round of 16, the first Polish side to do so since 2003
While Bodo/Glimt, the team that surprised us all last year, fail to live up to their performances last season.
Italian dominance
Italian sides want to keep their good record in the tournament.
Lazio ended their second leg against CFR Cluj with a 0-0 draw, after winning the first leg 1-0.
Fiorentina won 4-0 in the first leg against Braga and managed to win, once again, 3-2.
🎯 Clinical 💪#UECL | @LechPoznan https://t.co/f6Yg6mnZpy pic.twitter.com/LTUFo1KSie
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) February 23, 2023
Penalty perfection
The biggest drama of the early window was in Brussels, as Anderlecht managed to edge out Ludogorets on penalties after a 2-1 win after 120 minutes.
In previous seasons, this result would have meant the Bulgarians would advance via away goals, but instead we went to penalties, which was easily won by the hosts.
The hero was goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who saved all three of Ludogorets’ spot kicks, while Anderlecht also scored three of their own, including a great panenka by Lior Refaelov.
Belgian double
Anderlecht wasn’t the only Belgian club having a long night, Gent managed to score one goal against Qarabag and the match was decided by penalties.
After a dramatic shootout, Yassin Benzia missed the fourth penalty for the Azeri side, while Cederick van Daele took the decisive shot.
Gent won 5-3 in the shootout and celebrated a great evening for the Belgian clubs.
Party time for Anderlecht 🥳#UECL pic.twitter.com/3gMsDAIcbC
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) February 23, 2023
From Moldova with love
Another team to make history and win a knockout stage tie for the first time is Sheriff Tiraspol, who shocked Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in Serbia to erase the first leg deficit.
The African all-star side enjoyed a brace from Senegalese midfielder Mouhamed Diop, and a goal from Burkinabe Cedric Badolo to pour more misery on Partizan’s nightmare season.
Cypriot delight
AEK Larnaca became the first team from Cyprus to win a European knockout phase tie since APOEL Nicosia in 2017, after getting a famous 0-0 in Slovakia against Dnipro-1, and keeping the 1-0 aggregate win from last week.
It’s also the club’s first ever knockout phase victory.
In a season where Greek teams were eliminated from European competitions early, it’s Cyprus that keeps the local pride going.
Dnipro, on the other hand, can be proud of their season, exceeding expectations during a chaotic time in their country, and playing under difficult conditions.
Edited by Alex Smith
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