Basel and West Ham are closer to the decision of the Conference League, which takes place on June 7, in Prague, after winning, this Thursday, their first games in the semifinals of the competition.
The Swiss team defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in Florence and now depend on a draw at home next week to qualify. West Ham, on the other hand, managed the same score playing in London against AZ Alkmaar and will go ahead for the return game in Holland.
💥 BOOOOM 💪 BACK IN THE GAME ⚽#FCBasel1893 #MirSinBasel #UECL #ACFFCB #rotblaulive pic.twitter.com/NTJ67W4pUp
— FC Basel 1893 (@FCBasel1893) May 11, 2023
Playing at home, Fiorentina started dominating and took the lead in the 25th minute, after a corner kick by Cristiano Biragui that Brazilian Arthur Cabral headed into the net.
After the goal, ‘Viola’ maintained dominance of the match against Basel, who practically jeopardized Pietro Terraciano’s goal in the first half.
After the break, the Swiss team increased the pace in search of an equalizer, but Fiorentina defended well and were closer to extending the scoreboard.
The Italians almost scored the second on a shot by Rolando Mandragora that goalkeeper Marwin Hitz saved. But five minutes later, Basel equalized with France’s Andy Diouf, who sprinted from midfield to a left-hander in the corner.
The goal disoriented Fiorentina, who had another chance when Adams Nuhu’s header hit the crossbar. Already in stoppage time, Mohamed Zeki Amdouni gave Basel the victory by taking advantage of the Italian area and hitting the back of the net with a right.
West Ham beat AZ Alkmaar to take advantage
At London’s Olympic Stadium, West Ham put pressure on AZ Alkmaar from the first minute and created the first goal chances, with a header that was deflected by Jarrod Bowen and a shot by Algerian Saïd Benrahma that Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan saved.
But after withstanding the initial pressure, the Dutch team balanced the match and managed to open the scoring with Tijani Reijnders hitting from outside the area.
After the goal, the ‘Hammers’ were unable to break through AZ’s block until Ryan brought Bowen down inside the area and the referee awarded a penalty, which Benrahma took and converted.
The draw cheered the English, who nine minutes later reached the turnaround with Michail Antonio taking advantage of the ball that was barely cleared by the Dutch defense.
A brilliant comeback win! ⚒️
Let’s finish the job next Thursday in Alkmaar 👊 pic.twitter.com/yElmdIHzN4
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 11, 2023
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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