Arsenal went and travelled to Turkey for the first leg of their Champions League Play-Off match against tough side Fenerbahce, with the side being under pressure to perform after their recent performance against Aston Villa on Saturday, where they lost 3-1 at home on the opening day of the 2013-14 EPL season.
Fenerbahce 0 Arsenal 3 - match report:
Arsenal looked comfortable and confident as they were going into this first leg tie in Turkey, they felt more secure in a foreign country playing their football than they did back home in England. You could tell that from the first whistle, as they pressed the hosts for ball possession and dominated in terms of passing and goal-scoring chances but were unable to finish in the first half despite Fenerbahce's fatigueness in terms of possession of the ball.
At half-time it was goal-less, but The Gunners needed to break the deadlock if they wanted to score an away goal to take back to England for the second leg.
Just five minutes into the second half, a nice passing move by Arsenal with Ramsey and Walcott found left-back Kieran Gibbs darting into the box before passing the ball across the box to his fellow countryman. Gibbs cooly smashed the ball into the back of the net, past the Fenerbahce goalkeeper.
The Gunners doubled the lead after Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey got past the Fenerbahce defence well with his quick footwork and movement, before he hit a swerving strike towards goal which goalkeeper Demirel struggled to deal with and the ball parried behind him into the net.
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| Swerving strike: Ramsey doubled Arsenal's lead with a powerful shot that the goalkeeper struggled to deal with |
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| Well deserved: Ramsey wheels away to celebrate his strike. |
French striker Olivier Giroud capped off an impressive away win for Arsenal with a smashing drive from the penalty spot in the 77th minute after Walcott's skill, pace and trickery drew a cynical foul from the Fenerbahce defence.
UEFA Europa League Play-Off Round:
Tottenham 5 Dinamo Tbilisi 0 - match report:
This play-off round first leg match was played in Georgia, as English side Spurs travelled across Europe to play against their hosts, Dinamo Tbilisi.
The stadium was vast but virtually empty which is a stark contrast to what the visitors are normally used to - packed out stadiums every week at White Hart Lane.
Spurs looked comfortable and confident against their opponents, and this was evident within minutes as English young winger Andros Townsend went on a great solo run getting past the Tbilisi defenders before striking a low hard shot into the far corner of the net out of the goalkeepers' reach after just 10 minutes played in the match.
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| Low but powerful: Townsend capped off a good run with a powerful strike into the bottom corner of the net. |
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| Who is Bale? Townsend celebrates his 1st goal of the day as he shone playing in Bale's position on the night. |
A dangerous Spurs counter attack from an opposing corner saw new signing and Brazillian defensive midfielder Paulinho double Tottenham's lead just before half-time in the 44th minute, after another great run on the wing by Townsend before he crossed the ball into the box for the Brazillian to head at the far post past the goalkeeper.
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| Powerhouses: Paulinho celebrates his goal with new team-mate Dembele to make it 2-0 just before half-time. |
Townsend created the third for Spurs after another bursting run on the wing before unleashing a powerful through ball into the box for new Spanish striker Roberto Soldado to tap into the net out of the goalkeepers' reach to make it 3-0.
Full-back Danny Rose made it 4-0 with a stunning curling strike in the 65th minute from just outside the box which hit the top corner of the net almost instantly as soon as it hit his boot, the goalkeeper was helpless to try and save it - by the time he saw the ball it was in the back of the net.
The thrashing was confirmed by Soldado as he completed his brace 3 minutes later to make it 5-0, after a good swinging cross into the box by Paulinho was connected well by the Spaniard who tapped the ball firmly into the back of the net while the goalkeeper was sidetracked trying to figure out where the ball was coming towards him at.
A confident and dominant display by Tottenham as they've all but sealed their place in the 2013-14 Europa League group stages, along with another British side in the form of Swansea City, who also thrashed their opponents.... read down below for more.
Swansea 5 Petrolul Ploiesti 1 - match report:
This match was played at The Liberty Stadium, as Welsh side Swansea looked to take a strong home advantage into the second leg of their play-off match in Romania - which will be played next Thursday.
After their successful thrashing of Swedish side Malmo in the 3rd round of qualifying, they were hoping to get off to the best start at home in their 3rd European match this season so far.
And boy did they perform - by the scoreline you can tell they outperformed Petrolul Ploiesti in every area of the pitch and their Romanian opponents were completely dominated by the likes of Routledge, Michu and Bony who look like a very dangerous attacking partnership.
In the end the score was 5-1, with Routledge scoring a double, strikers Michu and Bony also getting on the scoresheet aswell as young Spanish midfielder Pozuelo who again came off the substitute bench to score his second goal from three sub appearances following his summer transfer move from Real Betis.
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| Routledge started the rout for Swansea, breaking the deadlock in the 13th minute after a smart lay-off move. |
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| Breakthrough: Routledge is mobbed by his Swansea team-mates after opening the scoring. |
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| Two for me: Routledge completed his brace to make it 3-0 to Swansea with a header over the keeper. |
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| Stretching: Michu scores the rebound after Hernandez' hit is parried by the keeper straight to the Spaniard. |
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| Passion: Michu celebrates fiercely after doubling Swansea's lead at home. |
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| Another one: Wilfried Bony celebrates his 4th goal in a Swansea shirt to make it 4-0 against Petrolul. |
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