Braga thrash Ferencvaros 4-0 to make Europa League quarter-finals | OneFootball

Braga’s record scorer Ricardo Horta added two more goals to his collection

An authoritative performance saw Braga turn around their Europa League tie in style against Ferencvaros this afternoon.

The Guerreiros lost 2-0 to the Hungarian champions in Budapest last week, but it was a different story in northern Portugal with four unanswered goals resulting in a 4-2 aggregate win.

An unusual kick-off time of 3.30pm on a working day did not stop a decent crowd of around 15,000 spectators turning up at the Quarry and the home fans were rewarded for their loyalty.

Deadly duo combine again

Usual suspects Rodrigo Zalazar and Ricardo Horta combined to break the Hungarians’ resistance early doors, the Uruguayan midfielder crossing perfectly for captain Horta to tap in from close range.

Soon afterwards Florian Grillitsch shot from the edge of the box and Ferencvaros goalkeeper Dávid Gróf made a hash of his attempted save, the ball squirming under his body and into the net. Fifteen minutes gone and the visitors’ advantage had been wiped out.

Such was Braga’s dominance it was only a matter of time before Carlos Vicens’ side took the lead.

Gróf saved well from a Horta lob, but he could do nothing in the 34th minute when Pau Victor’s cute through ball released Gabri Martínez, who, one-on-one against the goalkeeper, made no mistake.

Captain fantastic

Any doubts about who would be making progress in the competition were dispelled soon after half time when Ricardo Horta scored a superb goal, smashing a shot in off the post on the turn, with Pau Victor picking up his second assist of the match.

Braga took their foot off the pedal and it needed a fine save from Lukas Hornicek, diving full-length to his right, to prevent Júlio Romão’s excellent long-range effort from finding the back of the net.

Ricardo Horta, Braga captain:

“Was it easy? No, it wasn’t. We had to run a lot and that’s what we were lacking in the game over there. They won a lot of second balls [in the first leg] but today it was us who had more of the ball. In the second half we were a bit tired, but the goals had already been scored and it was a matter of managing the game in the best way possible.

“How far can we go in the Europa League? I don’t know. First of all, we’re going to enjoy this win. Turning around a tie when you’re losing by two goals is very difficult, but we did it. We don’t know who we’ll be playing next yet, but when the time comes, we’ll be ready for them.”

Greeks or Spaniards await

Braga will play the winner of the tie between Panathinaikos and Real Betis. The Greek side are leading after winning the first leg 1-0 in Athens. The second leg in Seville will be played tomorrow.