UEFA Europa League 2013: Late games recap
Tottenham thrashed Inter Milan, while a great goal from Rodrigo gave Benfica a win over Bordeaux in the Europa League late kick-offs.
Spurs dealt out a deserved thrashing to Inter and this tie looks over already. Gareth Bale opened the scoring with a towering header, before Gylfi Sigurdsson added another. Jan Vertonghen got in on the action from a set-piece in the second half to round off the victory. Full match report here.
Basel 2-0 Zenit St Petersburg
The biggest shock of the night. Marcelo Diaz gave Basel a late lead over a surprisingly-defensive Zenit, before a late penalty was converted by Alexander Frei, after Neto saw red for a last-man challenge which was highly debatable. The Russians aren't out of it, but they have a huge task in the home leg now.
Levante 0-0 Rubin Kazan
Levante tried, but they couldn’t find a way past one of the world’s most boring teams as Rubin played out an oh-so-predictable away 0-0 in an utterly unwatchable encounter. The only lively parts of the game were two red cards, one apiece, Cristian Ansaldi getting sent off for Rubin before Michel followed almost immediately. It’ll be a hard task for the Spaniards to progess now, with them needing a score draw or a win in Siberia.
Benfica 1-0 Bordeaux
A decent result for the Portuguese club, although they will still have a difficult home leg to encounter. It wasn’t a great game in Lisbon, but an absolutely fantastic goal from Rodrigo gave them the victory they needed. It may go down as an own goal to Bordeaux goalkeeper Carrasso, however, after a long-range effort crashed into the net via both the crossbar and the keeper.
