Cypriot champions APOEL got their Europa League group stage campaign off to a winning start on Thursday night after coming from behind to beat Kazakhstan visitors Astana 2-1.
The Nicosia club had bossed the game in terms of possession and chances but slipped behind when Nemanja Maksimovic’s deflected shot evaded Boy Waterman just before halftime.
APOEL came out firing after the break and managed to draw level on 75 minutes when Vinicius pounced from close range before Belgian substitute Igor de Camargo steered home the winner minutes before the end with a powerful header from Roberto Lago’s cross.
APOEL had missed several chances to take score in the game with Giannis Gianniotas, Pieros Sotiriou and George Efrem all passing up decent opportunities.
In the other group game, Olympiacos beat Swiss side Young Boys 1-0 and APOEL will next travel to Piraeus in Greece to take on the Greek champions.
“We deserved the victory,” said APOEL boss Thomas Christiansen. “We had total control in the first half and we played the perfect game leading up to the goal that we conceded. I told my players to keep up the hard work at half time and that we would overturn the score. We believed we could do it.”