English
Universitatea Craiova Secures Home Win Against a Disciplinarily Challenged Istanbul Basaksehir
Craiova, Romania – The Complex Sportiv Craiova witnessed a significant victory for Universitatea Craiova over Istanbul Basaksehir in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff round. The match, played on August 28, 2025, ended with a scoreline that reflected the home team’s superiority, especially after a Basaksehir player was sent off.
The match started at a frenetic pace. D. Selke put Istanbul Basaksehir ahead in the 7th minute, assisted by C. Operi. However, the Turkish joy was short-lived, as A. Cicaldau equalized for Craiova in the 9th minute, assisted by N. Bancu. Universitatea Craiova took the lead in the 27th minute with a goal from S. Baiaram, again assisted by Bancu.
The second half was marked by Istanbul Basaksehir’s indiscipline, accumulating numerous yellow cards and eventually seeing C. Operi sent off in the 80th minute for a second bookable offence. Universitatea Craiova took advantage of their numerical superiority and S. Nsimba sealed the match in the 81st minute, assisted by A. Mekvabishvili.
Despite dominating possession with 58%, Istanbul Basaksehir failed to capitalize on their dominance and were outplayed by a more effective and decisive Craiova. Universitatea Craiova proved to be more clinical in front of goal, with 6 shots on target out of a total of 13, compared to Basaksehir’s 3 shots on target out of a total of 10. The second leg looks difficult for the Turkish team, who will need to improve their discipline and effectiveness if they want to turn the result around.
Substitutions istanbul basaksehir: at minute 46 M. Crespo came in and O. Kemen went out., at minute 63 O. Ergun came in and A. Fayzullaev went out., at minute 64 B. Ozdemir came in and U. Gunes went out., at minute 73 D. Selke came in and N. Da Costa went out., at minute 81 I. Brnic came in and Y. Sari went out.
Substitutions universitatea craiova: at minute 77 S. Baiaram came in and S. Nsimba went out., at minute 77 A. Cicaldau came in and A. Mekvabishvili went out., at minute 90 Teles came in and A. Cretu went out., at minute 90 T. Baluta came in and L. Houri went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
Universitatea Craiova
Titulares:
Istanbul Basaksehir
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