Basel - Oţelul - 2011

Alexander Frei's late penalty earned FC Basel 1893 a 2-1 Group C victory against FC Oțelul Galați as both teams finished with ten men at St. Jakob-Park. Having deservedly led through Fabian Frei's powerful 39th-minute header, Basel were pegged back by Marius Pena before the real drama arrived in the closing stages. Alexander Frei converted a penalty after Adrian Sălăgeanu saw red for felling Marco Streller, and there was still time for Benjamin Huggel to be dismissed. Both will be suspended in a fortnight when the Swiss side travel to Manchester United FC and SL Benfica visit Bucharest. While Basel saw most of the ball it was the visitors, making their debut at this level, who created the clearer chances in a confident opening spell. Yann Sommer was called into action as early as the second minute after his defence failed to clear but Gabriel Giurgiu shot weakly into the Basel goalkeeper's arms. Four minutes later the lively Liviu Antal broke with pace on the right and crossed to Giurgiu but Sommer had his volley covered. With Oțelul relying on counterattacks, Basel patiently sought an opening. They nearly found one in the 27th minute when Milan Perendija failed to deal with Fabian Frei's long pass. The ball rolled into the path of Alexander Frei, whose thumping drive was fabulously saved by Branko Grahovac. Basel were rewarded for their patience before half-time when Markus Steinhöfer's quick throw caught the visiting defence napping. Streller took out Sălăgeanu with a clever cut-back before sending in a perfectly-weighted cross that Fabian Frei headed in after powering into the box. Oțelul responded impressively, and scored their first UEFA Champions League goal 58 minutes in. It was no surprise to see Antal involved, the No8 firing in a shot that Sommer spilled, leaving Pena to do the rest by chipping in cleverly. Granit Xhaka and Alexander Frei failed to take opportunities to restore the lead, and Basel were running out of time when Sălăgeanu brought down Streller as he shaped to shoot just inside the box in the 82nd minute. Frei converted his spot kick confidently, despite Grahovac going the right way, although there was to be some disappointment for coach Thorsten Fink as Huggel's raised foot earned him a second yellow with three minutes left.

Thorsten Fink, Basel coach: "It was a great performance from my team, we did well against what were very defensively-minded opponents. We had the quality to score two goals and we didn't give them many chances. Oțelul Galați may not be a big name, but they showed that they can play football. I am proud of my team, and the character we showed after they made it 1-1. A couple of weeks ago we would not have won this match."

Dorinel Munteanu, Oțelul coach: "We offered Basel the chance to become dangerous. We controlled the second half and even played well in the first half, but against the run of play we conceded the opener in the 39th minute. I am disappointed and very upset, because we really played well and did not deserve to lose. The way we played, with so many good counterattacks, gives me hope for the future. I am just very upset because we let Basel back in"; they did not create too many chances themselves." [UEFA.com]