Basel salvaged a draw against Fiorentina in their Europa League group stage fixture at the St. Jakob-Park in Switzerland.
Federico Bernardeschi hit a brace for the visitors, but Marek Suchy and Mohamed Elneny leveled the score for the Swiss champions.
It was the away side that made the most of some early pressure. Borja Valero found Federico Bernardeschi with a wonderful through-ball into the area, requiring a simple tap-in from the young winger to give La Viola the lead.
However, it wasn’t all clear sailing for Paulo Sousa. Facundo Roncaglia tried to prevent Breel Embolo from beating him to the ball, effectively elbowing the striker in the face, resulting in a straight red card for the Argentinian.
Despite this dismissal, the Italian side hit the Swiss once again. Bernardeschi popped up in the area for his second of the game, tapping in a lay-off in the box from Nikola Kalinic.
Basel responded immediately by pulling one goal back, captain Marek Suchy bundling the ball over the line after Luigi Sepe saved the initial cross.
In the second half both teams resorted to wearing down their opponent, creating a lot of stop-starts and fouls from both teams.
Despite no clear avenue, Basel did in fact level the score almost out of nowhere. Mohamed Elneny controlled the ball on the edge of the area and had a strike on the volley, bending it past Sepe brilliantly.
With both sides still bruising and battling, another goal looked on the cards. However neither team could find a winner with time running out.
A goalless draw between Belenenses and Lech Poznan is beneficial for both sides, meaning the Swiss club progress to the Round of 16 but Fiorentina are yet to qualify.
