BATE Borisov vs. Fenerbahce SK
Both these two teams proved to be worthy to be in this competition when they met on February 14th. Both teams were stubborn in defense and completely prevented each other from scoring; hence the goalless draw at the end of the night! Statistic-wise, BATE were much stronger going by attempts (15 against 3), and I think that the one man advantage for practically the whole length of the game also helped the Belarus team. Alan Kelly issued a total of 4 yellow cards and 1 red card between the two teams; one yellow card to BATE and the rest to their Turkish counterparts. Raul Meireles of Fenerbahce was the only player to be sent off during this match early on in the 4th minute.
Viktor Goncharenko and Aykut Kocaman lined up the following squads:
BATE Starting XI:
Gorbunov, Yurevich (c), Radkov, Bordachev, Filipenko, Volodko, Oleknovich, Rudik, Hleb, Rudionov, Baga
Subs: Soroko, Gayduchik, Badoyan, Vlodko, Pavlov, Kurlovich, and Mozolevski
Fenerbhace Starting XI:
Volkan Demirel (c), Korkmaz, Irtegun, Ziegler, Gonul, Topal, Meireles, Cristian, Sow, Webo, Kuyt
Subs: Mert Gunok, Serdar Kesimal, Stoch, Senturk, Selcuk Sahin, Ucan, and Erkin
Final Score: BATE Borisov 0-0 Fenerbahce
Anzhi Makhachkala vs. Hannover 96
This fixture was one of the few fixtures to have 4 or more goals on the night of February 14th. It was not only exciting from start to finish, but also a little dramatic as well! After having gone down early, the turn-around by the Russian team was very entertaining, and they showed that they’re not a team to rule out when thinking about who could win the competition this season. Statistic-wise, Anzhi were stronger and had more attempts than Hannover (16 against 9). Both teams had great chances, but it was Anzhi who were to emerge victorious at the end of it all. Only two yellow cards were issued between the two teams; one to each. No players were sent off during this match.
Guus Hiddink and Mirko Slomka brought out the following squads:
Anzhi Starting XI:
Gabulov, Eschenko, Joao Carlos, Zhirkov, Ewerton, Jucilei, Ahmedov, Diarra, Willian, Boussoufa, Eto’o (c)
Subs: Pomazan, Tagirbekov, Logashov, Gadzhibekov, Shatov, Smolov, and Carcela-Gonzalez
Hannover Starting XI:
Zieler, Schmiedebach, Djourou, Schulz, Chahed, Pocognoli, Da Silva Pinto, Huszti, Ya Konan, Diouf, Schlaudraff
Subs: Miller, Haggui, Sakai, Nicki, Abdellaoue, Sobiech, and Pander
Final Score: Anzhi Makhachkala 3-1 Hannover 96
Huszti 22′, Eto’o 34′, Ahmedov 48′, Boussoufa 64′
Written by Ange Marline
