APOEL warmed up for their crunch Europa league game against Athletic Club in best possible fashion after beating title challengers AEL 3-0 on Monday night.
Coach Thomas Christiansen rested six players – including striker Pieros Sotiriou – from the side that lost 3-2 in Bilbao last week but still did the job on AEL. The Cypriot champion are now six points ahead of second place Apollon as the Cypriot season heads towards the end-of-season playoffs.
Brazilian midfielder Vinicius had put APOEL ahead on 34 minutes with a header from close range before a dreadful Kevin Lafrance error allowed Nuno Morais to add a second in the 78th minute. Igor de Camargo scored the third in stoppage time from the penalty spot after being brought down by AEL keeper Romo.
APOEL will be seeking to reach the Last 16 of the Europa League for the first time in their history on Thursday as they aim to overturn a 3-2 deficit against La Liga side Athletic Club at the GSP.
Christiansen’s men, who famously reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2012, can go through with either a 1-0 or a 2-1 win but face a problem with the right back position as Zhivkov Milanov is struggling to be fit in time.
Cyprus Weekly