10-man Besiktas send Olympiacos crashing out of Europe

10-man Besiktas send Olympiacos crashing out of Europe
# 16 March 2017 22:37 (UTC +04:00)

Besiktas eliminated Olympiacos from the UEFA Europa League in Istanbul late on Thursday, booking themselves a quarter-final berth in the process, APA reports quoting AA.

Besiktas built on a hard-won first-leg 1-1 away draw to put four past Olympiacos at the Vodafone Arena. The 5-2 aggregate score was more than enough to send the Black Eagles’ Greek opponents crashing out of the competition.

The Istanbul club now advance to the quarter-finals, their first showing at this level since the 2002/2003 season.

Striker Vincent Aboubakar scored the opening goal for Besiktas in the 10th minute when Anderson Talisca delivered a corner and Aboubakar rattled the net with a powerful header.

Besiktas increased their lead to two in the 22nd minute, when winger Ryan Babel -- who has not scored a European goal since August 2010 -- placed a low shot into the net.

The Istanbul side were unable to protect their early 2-0 lead as Tarik Elyounoussi scored a volley which deflected off the back of defender Adriano and beat goalkeeper Fabri.

Olympiacos had another lifeline in the 39th minute when the referee showed Aboubakar a red card for an off-the-ball incident.

In the second half, 10-man Besiktas needed to secure their lead to avoid elimination. The Turkish side ended the Greek league leaders' hopes by finding another two goals.

Babel scored another in the 75th minute and Cenk Tosun -- who came on for Ricardo Quaresma -- found the net in the 84th minute.

The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place in Nyon at GMT1200 on Friday.

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