Besiktas saw off Kaunas Žalgiris 3:0 in the UEFA Europa League play-offs at Trupras Stadium on Wednesday. The hosts opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes and never looked back, closing the game out with a penalty after the break. The result leaves them one step from the group stage, a position they have been chasing all summer.
Oh Hyeon-Gyu gave Besiktas the lead in the sixth minute, and M. Murillo doubled it six minutes later. To be fair, the Lithuanians had barely posed a threat by then, their attacks few and far between. The visitors did not travel to make up the numbers, but their efforts went unrecognised until the 59th minute when O. Kokcu stepped up for the penalty.
The match was changed in the forty-sixth minute with three substitutions for Besiktas, and the visitors followed suit. J. Olaitan and Oh Hyeon-Gyu came off together in the sixtieth, while A. Kalik and L. Krekovic were withdrawn for Kaunas Žalgiris. The game settled into a rhythm where the hosts controlled possession and the visitors could only watch from the sidelines.
And here's the thing about the numbers — Besiktas had seventy-five percent of the ball and generated 2.68 expected goals, while Kaunas Žalgiris managed 0.13. They shot fourteen times with six on target, whereas the visitors managed two shots off target and none on. The statistics tell you what you saw: one team dominating, the other surviving.
Our prediction of a home win looked right by the final whistle, and the confidence we placed in it was justified. Besiktas had won their last five matches, including two 1:0 victories over GraDEC-Kralove and two away wins against Midtjylland. Kaunas Žalgiris had suffered a heavy 0:5 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb just days earlier, and this result extended their struggles.
The scoreline and the goal difference now sit at three for Besiktas, a clean sheet that will matter in the tie. Kaunas Žalgiris have work ahead of them, and the Europa League is not a competition you win by sitting back. The hosts will be pleased with what they achieved, and the visitors will need to find a way back into it if they are to survive.