CL: Istanbul Basaksehir lose against Olympiakos

The Istanbul-based club failed to pick up vital points in the first leg of their Champions League Third Qualifying Round clash with Olympiacos.

Istanbul Basaksehir succumbed to a 1-0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League Third Qualifying Round duel with Greek powerhouse Olympiacos on Wednesday.

The two clubs met for the first leg of the qualifier at Istanbul Basaksehir’s home ground, Fatih Terim Basaksehir Stadium in Istanbul.

Olympiacos found the back of the net in the second half via a Georgios Masouras header in the 53rd minute.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side after their midfielder Irfan Kahveci was sent off with a second yellow card in the 80th minute, leaving the team with 10 men.

Istanbul Basaksehir were given a glimmer of hope when the referee awarded them a penalty kick in the final minutes of the game. However, Basaksehir saw their opportunity to equalize denied after Olympiacos goalkeeper Jose Sa saved the spot kick which was taken by midfielder Edin Visca.

After the final whistle, Basaksehir defender Aurelien Chedjou and coach Okan Buruk were shown a red card for what appeared to be verbally insulting the referee, which means both, player and coach, will miss the second leg which is scheduled for next week on August 13 at Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece.