basel earn comeback success at fiorentina published: thursday 17 september 2015, 23.00cet fiorentina 1-2 basel two quick second-half goals – including a wonder strike by mohamed elneny – helped basel secure a comeback success in their group ı opener.
2015 finalist nikola kalinic hits fourth-minute opener fiorentina captain gonzalo rodríguez sent off after 66 minutes birkir bjarnason restores parity with second-half strike mohamed elneny secures basel success with stunning effort next group ı games: belenenses v fiorentina, basel v lech poznan (1 october)
two second-half goals in quick succession – including a wonder strike – allowed basel to come from behind to start uefa europa league group ı with a 2-1 victory at ten-man fiorentina.
urs fischer's men recovered from an early blow as birkir bjarnason's precise finish and mohamed elneny's super rising drive from outside the box completed a comeback success.
up against their ex-coach paulo sousa and with the final at their stadium in may, the visitors had an added incentive to open with a win on matchday one. however, by the fourth minute they were already a goal behind as losing 2015 finalist nikola kalinic struck. the former dnipro dnipropetrovsk forward met facundo roncaglia’s through ball before finishing at the second time of asking.
the rot-blauen – unbeaten in europe this season – responded via michael lang's powerful shot from distance, but his effort failed to test viola goalkeeper luigi sepe. fiorentina, for their part, could only muster two attempts on target – despite a dominant first-half display.
just three minutes after the break, jakub blaszczykowski was denied by the woodwork when sent clear by substitute khouma babacar. kalinic – who registered five times last term for runners up dnipro – squandered a decent opportunity shortly after. the serie a side would rue those misses.
following gonzalo rodríguez's 66th-minute dismissal, the swiss club took charge and managed to draw level. bjarnason beat sepe with a low drive from the edge of the area on 71 minutes. eight minutes later, elneny capped the fightback in style, again from the perimeter of the box, as basel extended to five matches their unbeaten run in europe this term.
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