published: thursday 20 march 2014, 23.25cet fc salzburg 1-2 fc basel 1893 (agg: 1-2)
a goal and a man down early on, the swiss champions were clinical at two second-half corners to turn the tables and reach the last eight.
ten-man fc basel 1893 upset the odds to come from behind and clinch a place in the uefa europa league quarter-finals at the expense of fc salzburg.
despite being shorn of marek suchý after his ninth-minute red card, marco streller (50) and gastón sauro (60) each scored from second-half set pieces to render moot jonatan soriano's 22nd-minute volley – his eighth goal of the campaign. a frustrating night for salzburg was compounded by alan's dismissal after collecting a second yellow card late on.
demonstrating their customary speed and self-assurance, salzburg flooded basel from the outset in this round of 16 second leg. the austrian bundesliga leaders' interchanging attackers were too much for basel to handle, with white shirts frequently gliding past their red-and-blue markers.
sadio mané relished the space afforded him by a static back line, though he failed to profit when christoph leitgeb ushered him into an early one-on-one. momentum swung further towards the hosts when suchý was sent off for a foul from behind as alan swivelled during a swift counter.
salzburg went for the jugular. only kevin kampl's balance prevented him tucking into a gaping goal after mané squared invitingly, before soriano claimed an inevitable opener. the spaniard met kampl's clipped cross to the back post with a neat in-step volley after florian klein had doggedly retrieved an apparent lost cause to feed kampl.
basel goalkeeper yann sommer palmed a klein effort over and bested mané before the break. the second period began in a similar vein, though soriano's head was in his hands when he uncharacteristically shot wide after mané collected kampl's back-heel and gifted the unmarked forward the chance to double his tally at the back post.
ıt proved costly. the bolt from the blue came moments later, as streller met a high, hanging corner with a header that brushed péter gulácsi's fingertips before finding the top-left corner. lightning struck twice when gulácsi hunted another deep corner without success, and arlind ajeti nodded back across goal for sauro to gleefully head over the unguarded line.
alan was twice foiled by sommer as shell-shocked salzburg strove to recover, but basel reached the last eight for the second successive season.
