"Anderlecht" crushes "Ekranas" without mercy © EuroFootball.com

"Ekranas" from Panevėžys buried their hopes of advancing to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League - in the first match, the Lithuanian champions were mercilessly crushed 5-0 by Brussels' "Anderlecht". The strongest team from Belgium surged forward without even playing 2 minutes, as Tomas De Sutter sent the ball into the net. The people of Panevėžys were left stunned - they continued to struggle, but by the 21st minute, Kanu doubled the lead. However, a little later "Ekranas" recovered and launched some dangerous attacks: Janis Urdinovas had a dangerous shot at first, and later Aurimas Vertelis lacked precision. "Anderlecht" did not forgive these mistakes and in the 41st minute sent the guests into a deep knockout - Dieumerci Mbokani scored. After the break, the scene on the field remained unchanged - Brussels' eleven clearly dominated, and the Panevėžys team was saved several times by goalkeeper Emilijus Zubas deflecting dangerous shots. However, he had to pull the ball out of the net two more times: Mbokani scored again, and former "Liverpool" forward Milan Jovanović as well. Brussels' "Anderlecht" 5 - 0 Panevėžys "Ekranas" 2' [1 - 0] T.D.Sutter 21' [2 - 0] Kanu 41' [3 - 0] D.Mbokani 53' [4 - 0] D.Mbokani 87' [5 - 0] M.Jovanovic"