the Vitoria are already dreaming of the Europa League title after beating Zrinjski 2-0 on Wednesday at the Dom Afonso Henriques stadium in the first of two qualifying matches for the competition.
Minho wanted to decide the match early, and in the first half they created several dangerous situations, although they were unable to achieve anything. Four minutes later, a calculated free kick left Nuno Santos in a good position to score, but the ball did not enter the goal, but found a Bosnian defender in front of him.
Thiago Silva, Vitoria’s most active player on Wednesday afternoon, focused on putting on a great show and, at the start of the second half, passed the ball across the entire Zrinjski penalty area until it reached Ricardo Mangas, who fired the ball into the net. -0 (46 min).
Just five minutes later, Guimarães were able to extend their lead, this time through Toni Borevkovic. Thiago Silva – the generous one again – took the corner and the Croatian defender headed it, making it impossible for goalkeeper Marko Maric to prevent a second goal.
The third goal of the afternoon would be the most beautiful of all. Joao Mendes believed and created the final goal for the 3-0, with a wonderful strike.
Vitória will now focus again on the national championship, given the meeting with AVS next Sunday, at Vila das Aves. Only then, on Thursday, will the second leg of the play-off to reach the regular stage of the Europa League be played, at Zrinjski.
Starting at eleven
Vitoria SC: Bruno Varela, Alberto Baio, Jorge Fernandes, Borevkovic, Joao Mendes, Thiago Silva, Handel, Nuno Santos, Caio Cesar, Ricardo Mangas, Nelson Oliveira.
Alternatives: Charles, Maja, Mikel Villanueva, Tomas Ribeiro, Marco Cruz, Manu, Joao Mendes, Telmo Arcanjo, Samu, Ze Carlos, Chucho Ramirez, Pica.
Zrinjski: Marek, Memea, Barisic, Sonjic, Tesinovic, Savic, Ivancic, Bosavec, Malkenošić, Kuz, Mulahocinovic.
Alternatives: Sevo, Mlinar, Kis, Mamic, Ramic, Jakovljevic, Prskalo, Topic, Abderrahimi, Kuzina, Rusevich and Camper.
Preview
It’s time to get to the Europa Conference League. Vitoria host Bosnian side Zrinjski on Wednesday in the first leg of the play-off for Europe’s third-biggest club competition, and expectations are high.
Rui Borges’ 100% winning record in official matches for Minho’s side leads fans to believe that this opponent will not be the one to threaten what could be the first appearance of a Portuguese team in the regular stage of the Conference League. In the first division, Vitória already has six points from two matches, while in the two European qualifiers already played, Floriana of Malta and Zurich of Switzerland are lagging behind.
Wednesday’s match, scheduled for 5:45 p.m. (Portugal time), will kick off at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques and will be refereed by Greek Vassilis Fotias. Keep the Sports per minute Below are the main events.
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