Live Commentary

The importance of being Ernst Fabian Ernst's last-minute header earned Besiktas a 1-0 victory to open their Europa League campaign against CSKA Sofia. Bernd Schuster's Turkish side struggled to create much for large parts but they clicked into life after the introduction of Ricardo Quaresma on the hour and it was his tricky run which brought the foul from which his side scored. Jose Maria Guti floated in the ensuing set-piece from the right wing and Ernst rose highest to claim the points. A fairly tame opening half had shown some early signs of promise with Besiktas' duo Rodrigo Tabata and Filip Holosko both shooting narrowly wide in the first 10 minutes. At the other end William Tiero lobbed a shot from 12 yards over the crossbar before a far more speculative 25-yard effort from Marquinhos also drifted over. But after the early activity there was little else to highlight the opening period. The match needed a lift after half-time but neither side looked like conjuring a passage of play to decide the contest. Mert Nobre shot harmlessly over from the edge of the area for the hosts shortly after the resumption while CSKA striker Gregory Nelson was similarly wasteful. On the hour Schuster finally decided to inject the trickery of winger Quaresma, who was his side's leading scorer in qualifying, in place of Holosko. The Portuguese had been a doubt for the game due to injury and while Schuster may have preferred to rest him for this weekend's derby with Fenerbahce his side needed a creative outlet. Quaresma's first action was to swing in a cross which CSKA goalkeeper Rais M'Bohli held well. Besiktas started to string chances together but Tabata was unable to beat M'Bohli from 12 yards as the Algeria international kept his side level with a good save. The home side's pressure intensified further with Hilbert shooting over before a long-range effort from Quaresma was cleared by Todor Yanchev. Cillian Sheridan miscued a rare chance for the visitors high over the crossbar, but most of the action was at the other end as Besiktas laid siege to the away goal in the final 10 minutes. The pressure finally told in the 90th minute when Quaresma was brought down by Yanchev and Ernst made the decisive touch from Guti's free-kick.