Busy day with lots of Europa League Round of 32 first leg matches being played. There’ plenty more to come later this afternoon but for now, here’s a recap of all the early action. Remember, all these matches are the first of two legs.
UEFA Europa League 2013: Early games recap
Liverpool are in a big hole after their first leg match against Zenit St. Petersburg, while Chelsea escaped the Czech Republic with a win thanks to a late goal from Oscar. Napoli look done after a 3-0 home defeat against Viktoria Plzen.
Epsilon
Anzhi Makhachkala 3-1 Hannover 96
Szabolcs Huszti staked Hannover to an early 1-0 lead but it was all downhill from there for the Germans. Samuel Eto'o leveled the score in the 31st minute but the real damage was done after halftime. Just two minutes into the second half Odil Ahmedov put Anzhi ahead and Mbark Boussoufa added a third in the 63rd minute. It could have been even worse for Hannover had Eto'o not missed a penalty kick in the 59th minute.
Click the link for a full match report.
Ajax 2-0 Steaua Bucuresti
Toby Alderweireld scored in the first half and Ricardo Van Rhijn added another in the second half as Ajax cruised to victory at home over Steaua Bucuresti.
BATE Borisov 0-0 Fenerbahce
Despite playing for 88 minutes with a man advantage after Fenerbahce's Raul Meireles was sent off before the match was even two minutes old, BATE Borisov simply couldn't generate a goal and were forced to settle for a highly disappointing scoreless draw at home. Fenerbahce will be thrilled to be heading home with the score even.
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Dynamo Kiev 1-1 Bordeaux
Lukman Haruna put Dynamo in the lead after 19 minutes but Bordeaux answered right back three minutes later thanks to Ludovic Obraniak. Dynamo looked on their way to a second goal after earning a PK in the 75th minute but Oleg Gusev missed his attempt. Bordeaux will return home with an away goal in their pocket, which is always a plus.
Levante 3-0 Olympiakos
Levante hammered Olympiakos behind goals from Pedro Ríos, Jose Barkero (who scored on a penalty) and Obafemi Martins. Martins' goal in the 56th minute made up for his missed penalty attempt in the first half. Olympiakos' Djamel Abdoun was shown a straight red card after his foul led to Levante's first penalty of the day.
Napoli 0-3 Viktoria Plzen
Napoli's European adventure appears all but done after a 3-0 demolition at the hands of Plzen. Vladimir Darida scored in the 27th minute to put the visitors in front and Plzen sealed the match late with goals from Frantisek Rajtoral and Stanislav Tecl.
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