Alex oxlade-chamberlain, a former liverpool and arsenal star, was at the forefront of a europa conference league match that will be remembered for its tense confrontations.
The match between beşiktaş and lugano was marked by a tense brawl that resulted in oxlade-chamberlain’s dismissal from the field. The tension peaks in the late stages of the game when renato steffen’s brutal tackle on oxlade-chamberlain ignited a tense argument. The retaliation of oxlade-chamberlain, which seemed to involve a kick at steffen, worsened the situation.
Players from both teams, as well as substitutes and coaching staff, rushed over to intervene. when order was finally restored, referee pawe raczkowski handed out red cards to oxlade-chamberlain and steffen. Beşiktaş defeated everton 2-0, thanks to goals from ex-everton striker cenk tosun and defender serkan terzi (who also goes by the name ’emrecan’, in a neat liverpool-themed coincidence). despite the tumultuous events, neither team made it to the knockout stage. Club brugge and bod/glimt occupied the top spot in group d. after leaving liverpool, oxlade-chamberlain moved to beşiktaş in the summer, signing a three-year deal with the turkish club.
Beşiktaş has scored four goals in his 21 appearances in all competitions so far. Oxlade-chamberlain told sky sports that he wanted to play overseas for the first time in his career, “but over half of the teams have always been made up of european players or foreign players from further afield.” So, being in a dressing room with a lot of lads that aren’t english has definitely helped me to enter a new world. “there was a part of me that wanted to play football outside of the premier league,’ he said. It was the right time for me when the opportunity came and i was at the time. I was definitely open to it.
“i had played a few times in turkey in the champions league, and the atmosphere was fantastic.” “it’s always been really exceptional, and that definitely drawn me in,” oxlade-chamberlain said of the turkish football fans’ passion. I knew i was going to be in a place where people really enjoy football. The fanbase is large. To play football in this country is an exciting place to behold.
