Lugano rout Getafe 5-2 in Conference League

Albian Ajeti scored twice and FC Lugano ran away with a 5-2 win over Getafe in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night in Spain.

Getafe took the lead in the second minute when Iván Azón scored from outside the box, but the Swiss side hit back almost immediately. Ajeti equalized in the third minute from close range, and Yanis Cimignani put Lugano in front in the seventh minute with a left-footed shot from the left side of the box.

Ajeti added his second in the 26th minute, finishing from the centre of the box after a fast break and an assist from Dereck Moncada. Uran Bislimi made it 4-1 in the 50th minute, shooting into the high centre of the goal from a pass by Mattia Zanotti.

Borja Mayoral pulled one back for Getafe in the 74th minute from very close range after a set piece, but there was no comeback. Kevin Behrens restored the three-goal margin in the second minute of stoppage time, finishing from the centre of the box.

The match was played at the Coliseum in Getafe, outside Madrid, in front of 6,365 spectators. Four of Lugano’s five goals came in the first 50 minutes, and the Spanish club conceded three times before the half-hour mark.

The Conference League is UEFA’s third-tier club competition. Its league phase has 36 clubs, each playing six matches, with the top eight advancing directly to the round of 16 and the clubs in ninth through 24th place going into a knockout playoff.

It was one of several lopsided results across European competition this week. Real Sociedad thrashed Lillestrom in a 6-0 Europa League win, and Hoffenheim beat Lyon in a 3-0 victory. Bournemouth also won comfortably, beating 10-man AC Milan.

Both clubs return to league-phase action in the next round of Conference League matches.

Via ESPN and BBC Sport.

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