Fiorentina - Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1
Fiorentina avenged their 3-0 UEFA Europa Conference League thrashing at Basaksehir last month, with a brace from Luka Jovic sealing a 2-1 victory on matchday five to put them level on points with the Turks, though Emre Belözoğlu's men still lead Group A on head-to-head.
Fiorentina looked to be gaining control of proceedings during a cagey opening quarter-hour, but the Stadio Artemio Franchi had a collective flashback to the Viola’s recent humiliation in Istanbul, when a long punt upfield from Basaksehir goalkeeper Muhammed Sengezer evaded the Fiorentina backline and fell to an onside Danijel Aleksic.
He had the easiest task to beat Pierluigi Gollini and put the visitors 1-0 up in a nightmare start for the Viola.
However, Basaksehir’s defence also decided to take an impromptu holiday just 11 minutes later.
Their first conceded goal of the group stage was one they will not care to relive, with a ball from the right flank via Christian Kouame rolling across goal to Jović, who needed only to tap in for his fourth goal in six games across all competitions.
Provider then nearly turned scorer moments later, as Kouame let loose a long-range effort that Sengezer had to tip over the bar to safety. In another criminal example of how not to defend, Jovic should have had a second before the break, but he was unable to convert a near carbon-copy of the equaliser, despite a perfectly-timed Riccardo Saponara ball from the left putting him through on goal – though in mitigation, he was closely marshalled this time around.
That set the tone for a dramatic second half, and one in which Fiorentina were expected to flourish, following the withdrawal of visiting captain Mahmut Tekdemir due to a back injury.
Basaksehir’s backline did indeed find themselves resisting increasing waves of purple after the interval, and their luck ran out just after the hour mark, when Riccardo Saponara flighted a ball from the lower-left edge of the box, where a lurking Kouame saw his attempt saved at point-blank range, but with the rebound butted over the line by Jovic to complete the turnaround.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luka Jovic (Fiorentina)
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Nice - Partizan Belgrade 2-1
Mario Lemina’s first goal since March was enough for Nice to come out 2-1 winners over Partizan Belgrade and go top of Group G in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) with one game remaining.
OG Nice had a fantastic opportunity to move to the top of Group D in the UECL if they could overcome unbeaten Group leaders Partizan Belgrade.
However, it was Belgrade who got off to the better start, first through Ricardo Jorge Pires Gomes who forced Marcin Bulka into a smart save, then Queensy Menig’s fierce shot just went wide of the post.
The hosts did well to keep a clean sheet during the first 30 minutes and were rewarded when Nicolas Pepe pounced on a spilled Aleksandar Popovic to score his second UECL goal of the season and make it 1-0.
Gaetan Laborde criminally couldn’t double the hosts lead after getting on the end of Pepe’s cross. Laborde’s miss from close range left the score at 1-0 at the break. Just like at the end of the first half, after the restart Laborde missed a golden opportunity to make it 2-0, this time hitting the post with a low driven shot.
Pepe was by far the most dangerous player on the pitch and just shy of the hour mark he did brilliantly to beat two players and set up Melvin Bard whose shot was well saved by Popovic.
The hosts were promptly punished for not taking their chances when Gomes took advantage of some sloppy defending to pounce on a loose ball and find the bottom corner for 1-1.
To the hosts credit they responded immediately to retake the lead, Lemina’s deflected effort wrong footed the hapless Popovic to make it 2-1.
Despite a late attacking push, Partizan couldn’t prevent the scoreline finishing 2-1, conceding the top spot in the group on head to head with Nice with one game remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolas Pepe (Nice)
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Elsewhere in Europe
Anderlecht and Steaua Bucharest both had a chance in the early fixture in Group B to make gains on Silkeborg for qualification, however both teams could not find enough for three points, drawing 2-2 in Belgium.
Villarreal dropped points for the first time in Group C, sharing the points with Hapoel Beer Sheava with a 2-2 scoreline. It boosted the Israel side's chances of qualification given that Lech Poznan and Austria Vienna also drew, this time 1-1.
In Group D, the drama started before the first whistle as a blanket of fog covered the ground in Slovacko's game against Koln. With both teams vying for qualification, they did their best to get the game going. But in terrible conditions, they managed just nine minutes before the tie was abandoned and rescheduled for Friday at 1pm.
AZ Alkmaar continued their good form in the competition with a 2-1 win over FC Vaduz, guarenteeing them top spot in Group E.
