Trabzonspor lost expensive points in the Europa League on Thursday evening. Visiting Red Star Belgrade, the team lost 2-1, dropping it to third place in Group H. At the same time, Sivasspor secured their winter in the Conference League thanks to a 3-0 win over CFR Cluj.
Red Star Belgrade – Trabzonspor 2-1 (Europa League)
The devil was in the tail in the first half. After both teams missed several chances on the opening goal, Red Star Belgrade took the lead in the 37th minute. Aleksandar Katai got the ball on the edge of the penalty area, decided to take it out in one go and saw the ball fly beautifully into the top corner. However, the home team couldn’t enjoy the lead for long, as it was tied again two minutes later via Anastasios Bakasetas. The Greek scored with a free kick from afar, although goalkeeper Milan Borjan was not completely free.
?? 90′ Karsilasma sona erdi. #CODvTS #UELKizilyildiz 2-1 Trabzonspor pic.twitter.com/Yi6B4WAeXC
— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) October 27, 2022
Trabzonspor, where Stefano Denswil and Dogucan Haspolat were on the bench for the entire match, were close to 1-2 ten minutes after the break, but Marek Hamsik hit the crossbar. After more than an hour of play, Red Star took the lead again: after good work by Osman Bukari, Aleksandar Pesic was the celebrated man. Trabzonspor was unable to level up again, and as a result drops to third place in Group H. Red Star remains fourth despite the victory.
Sivasspor – CFR Cluj 3-0 (Conference League)
After Dia Saba hit the crossbar from a free kick after fifteen minutes, it was in the 22nd minute for Sivasspor: a cross from the right was head extended by Hakan Arslan, after which Mustapha Yatabaré was able to score the 1-0 from close range. In the continuation of the first act, Cluj, where Rangelo Janga was in the striker, was close to the equalizer several times, but the Romanians did not have their sights on sharp.
Bir üst turdayiz ?? UEFA Avrupa Konferans Ligi’nde CFR 1907 Cluj ile karsilasan Demir Grup Sivasspor’umuz rakibini 3?-0? maglup ederek kupada bir üst tura yükseldi. ???? Armagan Olsun Turkiye #UECL pic.twitter.com/gGYNm9gPe5
— Demir Grup Sivasspor (@Sivasspor) October 27, 2022
Midway through the second half, Max Gradel doubled the lead on behalf of the home side. A free kick was taken shortly, Gradel shot at goal and saw the ball end up in the net via a player from Cluj: 2-0. The final chord came in the name of Yatabaré again, who made it 3-0 from the rebound.