Eduardo guides Basel into last eight

Eduardo scored twice as FC Basel 1893 eased into the last eight of the UEFA Cup after completing a 4-2 aggregate victory against RC Strasbourg at La Meinau.

First-leg deficit
The Ligue 1 strugglers were always up against it after goals from Matías Delgado and Zdravko Kuzmanovic gave the Swiss side an imposing 2-0 first-leg lead. Their task looked unattainable when Eduardo gave the visitors a third-minute advantage, tapping in Mladen Petrić's unselfish square ball, but Rudy Carlier soon levelled for the home team. That left Strasbourg needing to score three more to keep alive their UEFA Cup hopes but these were extinguished when Eduardo added another in a frenetic first half, before Cedric Kanté secured a 2-2 draw on the night late on.

Memorable first
The result brought a disappointing finish to a match that had begun in the worst possible fashion for Strasbourg when Eduardo slotted in. It was the Brazilian forward's first UEFA Cup goal since his first-round strike against NK Široki Brijeg, in contrast to Delgado who has notched six, and the latter went close to making it seven with a blistering drive that Nicolas Puydebois did well to catch as Basel looked to build on their dream start. But instead, it was Strasbourg who scored next as Carlier marked his second starting appearance for the French club with a goal.

Late consolation
That lifted Strasbourg and Alexander Farnerud saw three efforts denied, before Eduardo destroyed their hopes with an emphatic volley from David Degen's left-wing cross. There were still only 26 minutes on the clock and although the game calmed down before half-time, Basel began the second period with renewed verve as Boris Smiljanic and Mile Sterjovski forced impressive saves from Puydebois. Kanté eventually made it 2-2 at the other end with 12 minutes remaining, but it was too little too late as the Swiss side progressed to the quarter-finals.