Besiktas defeat Sarpsborg 3-1 in EL

The Black Eagles continued to impress in Europe with their 3-1 win against Norway’s Sarpsborg.

Besiktas beat Norwegian outfit Sarpsborg 3-1 in their first game of the 2018/2019 Europa League season. The victory sees the Turkish club move into first place in Group I.

The Black Eagles pressed the Norweigan side well at Besiktas’ Vodafone Park in Istanbul and had relatively more possession but Sarpsborg had created better chances in the first half of the match.

They started the second half well and broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Dutch winger Ryan Babel found the back of the net.

In the 69th minute, on-loan midfielder Ljajic delivered a free-kick and defender Roco rose to head past opposition goalkeeper Vasyutin to make it 2-0. Besiktas winger Lens drilled in the third goal to kill off any comeback hopes for the Norwegian side.

The away side managed to pull one back at 90+4 with a powerful header by Zachariassen. However, it proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal.

The two sides met for first time in a UEFA competition and Sarpsborg made their first trip to Turkey.