Beşiktaş, Lugano draw in thrilling Europa League playoff

THUN, Switzerland

In a high-scoring first leg of the UEFA Europa League playoff round, Turkish giant Beşiktaş played to a 3-3 draw with Swiss side Lugano at Thun Stadium on Aug. 22.

Despite holding a 3-1 lead in the second half, the Turkish side could not secure the victory, leaving the tie finely poised ahead of the return leg in Istanbul on Aug. 29.

Gedson Fernandes opened the scoring for Beşiktaş in the 21st minute, expertly controlling a long pass from Gabriel Paulista on the left wing before driving into the penalty area and slotting the ball into the far corner.

However, Lugano equalized in the 34th minute through Uran Bislimi, who finished off a well-worked passing move to bring the score to 1-1 at halftime.

The second half saw a flurry of goals, beginning with Fernandes netting his second of the match in the 52nd minute. The midfielder latched onto a backheel pass from Rafa Silva inside the box and calmly finished to restore Beşiktaş's lead.

Just three minutes later, the black-and-whites extended their advantage to 3-1 when Moatasem Al-Musrati headed in a corner from Arthur Masuaku.

However, Lugano responded quickly, scoring twice in the space of seven minutes to level the match. Renato Steffen found the net in the 56th minute with a well-placed shot from the right side of the penalty area, and in the 63rd minute, a defensive error from Paulista resulted in an own goal, tying the score at 3-3.

The match remained deadlocked for the remainder of the contest, setting up a tense second leg in Istanbul. The team that advances from this playoff round will earn a spot in the Europa League, which debuts a new 36-team format this season.

Elsewhere, Turkish clubs Başakşehir and Trabzonspor were held to goalless draws in their respective UEFA Conference League playoff matches on Aug. 22. Başakşehir faced Irish side St. Patrick, while Trabzonspor took on Swiss club St. Gallen.