Zürich let Salzburg off the hook

Despite winning this UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg with goals from Alhassane Keita and Clederson Cesar, FC Zürich will come away slightly disappointed after letting ten-man FC Salzburg back into the tie through Johan Vonlanthen’s away goal.

Early strike
Salzburg's managerial team of Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthäus got off to the worst possible start when Keita struck within two minutes - the Guinean striker capitalising on some uncertain defending to drill the ball in from inside the box. Zürich continued to dominate inside a raucous Hardturm stadium and it was no surprise when Cesar doubled the lead on 20 minutes.

Aufhauser dismissal
However, Salzburg were allowed back into the tie when Vonlanthen – playing as a visitor in his home country – pounced two minutes after the half-hour. Any hope of a revival was snuffed out eight minutes before half-time when René Aufhauser's second yellow card saw the Austrian side reduced to ten men. Zürich subsequently attacked in numbers but could not increase their advantage, with Timo Ochs producing a fine save to deny Cesar a second goal on 51 minutes.