Basel surprised on Thursday by beating Fiorentina 2-1, while West Ham turned the score around to beat AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Conference League Europe semi-final with the same result.
The Italian team opened the scoring in the 25th minute, through Brazilian striker Arthur Cabral, reinforcing the favoritism attributed to him, after a first half in which Fiorentina were clearly in charge, in terms of possession and number of goals.attacks, but did not create any real scoring opportunities.
The second half saw the Swiss turn the score, with goals from 19-year-old French striker Andy Diouf in the 71st minute and midfielder Zeki Amdouni in the 90+2 minute, at a time when Fiorentina were looking to get back to the pipe.
Basel defended with the same consistency as in the first half, but proved much more daring offensively and ultimately had the merit of being effective when it came to shooting on target, unlike the Italians.
In the other semi-final, West Ham confirmed the favoritism with which they started this tie, but surprised AZ Alkmaar in the first half with the uncomplicated way they took the initiative of the game and how they installed themselves in midfield. of the English.
It was therefore no surprise that midfielder Tijjani Reijnders scored on the brink of half-time in the 42nd minute with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area that surprised the England defense, including goalkeeper Alphonse Aréola.
In the second half, the nature of the game changed, with the English much sharper and more intense, putting pressure on the Dutch defence, who were tied in the 67th minute by Algerian midfielder Mohamed Benrahma, when executing a penalty committed by Mathew Ryan, who saw the yellow card.
The goal that decided the winner and rightly rewarded the English’s good second half came in the 76th minute from veteran Jamaican striker Mikhail Antonio, who used a rebound in the penalty area to score the AZ Alkmaar goal.
Everything is open for the second leg in the two semifinals, scheduled for May 18, next Thursday.
Source: DN
