Copenhagen 3-0 İstanbul Başakşehir (agg: 3-1): Turkish champions stunned
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Article summary
Two goals from Jonas Wind and a third by Rasmus Falk send Copenhagen through to the quarter-finals for the first time.
Article top media content
Article body
Copenhagen will face Manchester United in their first European quarter-final after stunning İstanbul Başakşehir 3-0 in the Danish capital to overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.
Match in brief
The second leg was just four minutes old when Jonas Wind took flight to dispatch a diving header into the net and level a tie Copenhagen had trailed in for 146 days. The newly-crowned Turkish champions snapped out of their initial torpor but the home side defended resolutely and, with Rasmus Falk pulling the strings, always carried a threat going forward.
Wind's second of the evening – a penalty after Mehmet Topal had been penalised for handball – deflated the visitors but not as much as the killer third as Falk slalomed towards goal before bending in a shot via Mert Günok's fingertips. Copenhagen will be underdogs again at the UEFA Europa League finals in Germany but the tag certainly didn't impede them this evening.
View from the stadium: Sture Sandø, Copenhagen reporter
A historic night in Copenhagen. For the first time the club from Denmark's capital are through to a European quarter-final! The first half was even but Falk, Wind and Spaniard Pep Biel helped swing the contest in the hosts' favour. Credit, though, to the whole team: this was the performance of their season, outplaying the Turkish title winners.
Visitors' view: Görkem Kırgız, İstanbul Başakşehir reporter
The visitors were surely aware of how good a side Copenhagen are, but I’m not certain they were expecting this. Başakşehir did not lack passion after the early setback; they did all they could but were simply outplayed. Regardless of the result, this season has been an unmitigated success. Kudos to Copenhagen on a well-deserved win.
Reaction
Ståle Solbakken, Copenhagen coach: "It hurts to think how 30,000 in the stands would have felt … in the final minutes. It's a shame for the fans, but also for the boys: they didn't get the tribute and celebration they deserved. It was an absolutely fantastic performance by the team."
Jonas Wind, Copenhagen midfielder: "This is insane, and I'm a little moved to be a part of this team. We delivered a class performance and it is a demonstration of power to beat the Turkish champions. We scored three, and could have scored more. It is fantastic to be writing history with FC Copenhagen."
Rasmus Falk, Copenhagen midfielder: "We also played well against Celtic, and our performance today was probably on a par with that performance. It was a little more fun today. We have been better in Europe than in the Super League, but right now it's about Europe and here we deserve no criticism."
Okan Buruk, İstanbul Başakşehir coach: "I'm sorry for the result. We couldn't play our game and I take responsibility for that. Copenhagen played really well, they ran a lot and outplayed us [...] the home side played as team and deserved the result."
Key stats
- Copenhagen made it third time lucky as they advanced to a European quarter-final following previous defeats at the round of 16 stage in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League.
- Denmark are the 15th nation to have a club in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
- Wind struck twice on what was his first start in the UEFA Europa League proper this term. The 21-year-old has scored four goals in his last four outings.
- Left-back Nicolai Boilesen made his first start since May 2019 following a long-term injury.
- İstanbul Başakşehir had scored in each of their previous 18 matches, including their last nine away from home, before Copenhagen.
- Copenhagen scored as many goals tonight as they had in their previous four home games in the UEFA Europa League.
Line-ups
Copenhagen: Johansson; Varela, Nelsson, Bjelland, Boilesen (Bengtsson 69); Mudražija (Stage 54), Zeca; Pep Biel (Oviedo 84), Wind, Falk (Bartolec 84); Kaufmann (Daramy 54)
İstanbul Başakşehir: Mert Günok; Júnior Caiçara, Škrtel, Epureanu, Clichy; Mahmut Tekdemir (Elia 54), Mehmet Topal (Aleksić 54), İrfan Can Kahveci (Berkay Özcan 71); Višća, Ba, Crivelli (Gulbrandsen 79)
What's next?
Copenhagen face Manchester United at 21:00 CET on Monday for a place in the semi-finals.