Fuente : UEFA (English)
http://www.uefa.com/

UEFA Cup: Zürich zeal leaves Legia lagging

/noticias.info/ FC Zürich took a significant stride towards the first round of the UEFA Cup as a strike from substitute Rafael Caetano De Araujo deep into added time earned a 1-0 success in Poland against ten-man Legia Warszawa.

Late breakthrough
The Swiss side produced an impressive display at the Wojska Polskiego stadium against injury-ravaged opponents who were further depleted early on when Lukasz Surma was shown a red card. However, despite their dominant performance, the visitors did not break through until seconds before the final whistle – and then required a helping hand from the Legia defence.

Surma sent off
Legia began the game without six first-team players and things went from bad to worse for the Polish outfit in the 18th minute as Surma was sent off for a high tackle on Mihai Tararache. The numerical disadvantage meant that the home side were forced to concentrate on counterattacking against a Zürich team who seemed happy to sit back and wait for openings to present themselves.

Keita threat
With Alhassane Keita particularly influential up front, Zürich looked by far the more likely scorers, although Legia goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was in inspired form and made six or seven crucial stops, including one block from Blerim Dzemaili's close-range effort.

Zürich in charge
In contrast, Legia playmaker Aleksandar Vukovic struggled to get into the match, although the home side might still have taken the lead as they carved out two or three opportunities. In the main, however, Zürich controlled the pace of the match, although as time wore on it seemed they would have nothing to show for their efforts.

Rafael pounces
That all changed with only seconds remaining, however, as Dzemaili's left-wing cross caused confusion between Fabianski and central defender Jacek Magiera. The loose ball rolled to the feet of Rafael, and the Brazilian replacement duly converted to give the Swiss team the edge ahead of the sides' second meeting on 25 August. notas_de_prensa_archivo