• Swansea 5-1 Petrolul, Europa League

Swansea soar towards group stage

ESPN staff
August 22, 2013
Michu scored Swansea's second goal of the evening © Getty Images
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Swansea all but sealed their place in the group stages of the Europa League as they destroyed Petrolul Ploiesti 5-1 in the first leg of their play-off tie at the Liberty Stadium.

As with their first meeting with Malmo in the previous round, Swansea simply overwhelmed their opponents as they romped to a convincing victory.

Wayne Routledge grabbed a first-half double with Michu also on the scoresheet to give Michael Laudrup's side a 3-0 half-time lead.

An own goal from Petrolul goalkeeper Pecanha and a classy finish from Alejandro Pozuelo increased their advantage, before Gheorghe Grozav got a late consolation for the visitors.

The tie was effectively decided inside 25 minutes as Petrolul, the Romanian cup holders, floundered.

There was a hint of luck about Routledge's opener. A Jonjo Shelvey free-kick ran all the way through to the winger but Pecanha looked to have his shot covered until Ovidiu Hoban stuck out a leg to guide it in.

Michu quickly tapped in a second when Pecanha could not hold a Pablo Hernandez shot, before the latter delightfully teed up Routledge for a simple far-post header.

Pecanha then inadvertently provided the fourth as he diverted Wilfried Bony's shot over the line after the striker's effort squirmed under him, before Pozuelo raced on to a Michu pass to finish in style.

But Petrolul had the last word as Grazov, whose goal had seen off Vitesse Arnhem in the last round, produced a stunning overhead kick to beat Michel Vorm.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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