Orkun K?k?ü fires Besiktas to a hard-fought win over 10-man Midtjylland

Orkun Kökçü

Besiktas took the first step towards the Europa League group stage on Thursday night. They beat Midtjylland 1-0 at home after the visitors played with 10 men for more than 75 minutes.

Midtjylland's night unravelled after just 15 minutes. Friday Etim let his foot roll over the ball and caught his opponent hard, leaving the officials with no option but to show a red card.

That gave Besiktas a clear lift and they didn't take long to cash in. Vaclav Cerny picked out Orkun Kökçü, who curled the ball magnificently into the top corner from the edge of the box: 1-0.

From there, the Turks stayed on top and carved out good chances through Michael Murillo, Hyeon-Gyu Oh and Cerny, but they could not add to their lead. The return leg follows next week.