Bobby Zamora, yes Bobby Zamora, scored two goals right before half-time as Fulham upset Basel 3-2 in Switzerland to book a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.
photo credit: nicksarebi
Basel were heavy favorites here to progress to the knockout stages after having won all five of their previous European home games, while Fulham had yet to get an away win.
Zamora is in a rich vein of form at the moment and he scored twice on the stroke of half-time. First he met Bjorn Helge Riise’s inswinging cross with a first-time shot at the far post. In a near replica effort three minutes later, Riise found Zamora in the same position and the in-form forward this time headed past the Basel goalkeeper.
Alexander Frei pulled one back for Basel with a second-half penalty, but when Zoltan Gera quickly restored Fulham’s two-goal lead, the game looked safe for Fulham. However, Marco Streller’s late header meant a tense final minutes as Basel struggled in vain to get the third goal that ould have sent them through.
Fulham are now in the hat for the first knockout round and they could be paired with the likes of Juventus or Atletico Madrid who all dropped out of the Champions League.
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