Clear victory for Beşiktaş on the road to the Europa League

Beşiktaş secured a significant advantage in their quest for the league phase by defeating Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris 3-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play-off round. In the match played at Tüpraş Stadium, the Black and Whites started quickly and took control of the game with early goals.

Beşiktaş took the lead in the 6th minute of the match. From a corner kick taken by Rıdvan Yılmaz on the left wing, Hyeon Gyu-Oh sent the ball into the net with a header at the near post. The Black and Whites doubled their lead just 6 minutes after this goal. In another attack developing from the left wing, Amir Murillo connected with the ball sent into the penalty area by Rıdvan Yılmaz, making the score 2-0.

Maintaining their dominance in the first half, Beşiktaş continued to be effective in the opponent's half during the second half as well. In the 57th minute, Hyeon Gyu-Oh was brought down in the penalty area by a challenge from Slivka, and referee Tobias Stieler pointed to the penalty spot. Captain Orkun Kökçü stepped up and converted the penalty in the 60th minute, bringing the score to 3-0.

VLAHOVIC TAKES THE STAGE, TROSSARD INJURED

One of Beşiktaş's new signings, Dusan Vlahovic, was included in the match squad for the first time in the Kauno Zalgiris encounter. The Serbian striker, who started the match on the bench, entered the game in place of Hyeon Gyu-Oh. The stands gave Vlahovic intense support as he entered the pitch.

The negative development of the night for the Black and Whites was the injury to Leandro Trossard. The player, who was transferred from Arsenal, could not continue the game due to a problem he experienced in the 72nd minute and was replaced by Milot Rashica. It was stated that the status of Trossard will become clear after the necessary medical checks.

Head coach Vincenzo Italiano made three changes to the starting 11 compared to the last league match. Amir Murillo, Emirhan Topçu, and Hyeon Gyu-Oh took the field in the starting 11 in place of Taylan Bulut, Emmanuel Agbadou, and Semih Kılıçsoy. Beşiktaş started the match with the 11 of Alexander Nübel, Amir Murillo, Tiago Djalo, Emirhan Topçu, Rıdvan Yılmaz, Salih Özcan, Junior Olaitan, Orkun Kökçü, Vaclav Cerny, Leandro Trossard, and Hyeon Gyu-Oh.

Having won the first leg 3-0, Beşiktaş will be the guest of Kauno Zalgiris in the return leg. The match will be played on Thursday, August 27, at 20.00 Turkish time. If the Black and Whites maintain this advantage, they will qualify for the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.