İstanbul Başakşehir 1-0 Copenhagen: Višća earns late win

İstanbul Başakşehir earned a narrow lead to take to Denmark next week as Edin Višća again came to the rescue.

Match at a glance

The hosts had the better of the first half and adopted a direct approach, although the breakthrough they sought almost arrived through inadvertent means when Višća got in the way of a hopeful long-range shot, sending the ball ricocheting onto the post. Despite the early scare, Copenhagen rallied, although wayward shooting from Mohamed Daramy and Rasmus Falk ensured a quiet night for home keeper Mert Günok

If the opening 45 minutes were characterised by a lack of shooting accuracy, there were fewer chances to capitalise upon after the break. Demba Ba had the best of them, coming agonisingly close to connecting with a cross from substitute Robinho. Višća sealed the win by emphatically converting his spot kick after Guillermo Varela was adjudged to have impeded Ba inside the penalty area.

Rasmus Falk evades a challenge for the visitorsAFP via Getty Images

View from the stadium: Görkem Kirgiz

The hosts tried their best to apply consistent pressure against a Copenhagen side who clearly neither wanted to concede nor take too many risks. Until the penalty, they almost succeeded – but Başakşehir got what they wanted from an evenly matched contest.

Reaction

Edin Višća, İstanbul Başakşehir winger: "It is a good result but nothing is finished for us. We expected a tough game and Copenhagen really showed they are a compact, good team who play very well. We have played a lot of games and are tired. They are strong and tough and 0-0 would have been okay. I believe we can reach the quarter-finals in Copenhagen."

Okan Buruk, İstanbul Başakşehir coach: "It was a very difficult game. Copenhagen always play a 4-4-2 formation and on the defensive side they played very well today. Normally we create a lot but today we didn't. It was very important to not concede – it's been a great night for us."

Ståle Solbakken, Copenhagen coach: "It was an even game but they had a couple more chances than us. Maybe they were one goal better than us."

Martin Škrtel, İstanbul Başakşehir defender: "We won but we have to say it was a tough game against good opponents. They are well-organised and press well but we scored the goal and didn't concede, which is good before the second game. Nothing is finished yet and it will be a very difficult game there. We will be ready."

Copenhagen coach Ståle Solbakken prior to kick-offAFP via Getty Images

Key stats

• This was Başakşehir's debut in the round of 16 of UEFA competition.
• Višća has scored four goals in his last three UEFA Europa League games.
  
• Başakşehir are 11 home games (W9) unbeaten, conceding only seven goals in that time.
• Eleven of the Turkish team's 13 goals in this season’s competition have come after half-time.
  
• Başakşehir have won five of their last seven games in the UEFA Europa League. Prior to that, they had only won three of 22 matches in European competition.
  
• Copenhagen have not kept a clean sheet in ten matches.
  

Line-ups

İstanbul Başakşehir: Mert Günok; Júnior Caiçara, Škrtel, A. Epureanu, Clichy; Aleksić, Mahmut Tekdemir (Gulbrandsen 85), İrfan Can Kahveci; Višća (Azubuike 90+1), Ba, Crivelli (Robinho 74)

Copenhagen: Johnsson; Varela, Nelsson, Bjelland, Bengtsson; Pep Biel (Bartolec 89), Zeca, Stage; Daramy (Kaufmann 61), Santos (Fischer 82), Falk