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Augsburg squander win over Athletic, Schalke edge APOEL

Xinhua, November 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Augsburg came from behind but Aritz Aduriz's brace snatched a late 3-2 win for Athletic Bilbao while Schalke reaped a hard earned 1-0 win over APOEL at the fifth round of UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Athletic Bilbao grabbed the lead on the road through Markel Susaeta before Piotr Trochowski and Raul Bobdailla turned the tides. However, the visitors from Spain bounced back in the dying minutes of the game as Aduriz struck twice to make the game safe.

The visitors ensured a bright start by courtesy of Markel Susaeta's opener with ten minutes into the game. The midfielder had all time and space after a throw-in to slot home with a low shot into the near post corner from 22 meters.

Augsburg lacked in ideas to overcome Athletic's well-positioned defence, as a consequence, they had to wait until the 41st minute before Piotr Trochowski's deflected effort from 20 meters restored parity.

The "Fuggerstaedter" started highly motivated into the second half and got rewarded with 59 minutes into the game as Raul Bobadilla slotted home a one-two with Ji Dong-Won to put his side up front.

It looked liked Augsburg could secure crucial points on home soil but Aritz Aduriz's brace turned things around within three minutes to leave the hosts empty-handed.

With the result, Group L front-runners Athletic sealed their progression to the knockout stages meanwhile Augsburg need a 3-0 victory at Partizan in the last group game to wrap the decisive second place.

Athletic top Group L with 12 points followed by Partizan (9 points), Augsburg (6 points) and AZ Alkmaar (3 points).

Elsewhere, wasteful Schalke craved out an uninspired 1-0 victory over APOEL Nikosia in Group K. The "Royal Blues" dominated the first half but they failed to turn their promising chances into a tangible reward.

After the restart, APOEL nearly flabbergasted passive Schalke but neither Nuno Morais nor Vander were capable to tap home from promising positions. Nikosia's chances were a wakening call for the hosts as Eric-Maxim Chuopo-Moting tapped in a square pass by Sascha Riether with four minutes remaining.

Schalke had even the chance to double the lead through a handball penalty, but APOEL goalkeeper Boy Waterman defused Dennis Aogo's poor attempt from the spot.

The narrow 1-0 lead win put Schalke through to the last 32, with one round to spare, while APOEL stay on the last place. Schalke sit atop the standings in Group K with 11 points followed by Sparta Praha (9 points), Asteras (4 points) and APOEL (3 points). Endit