Watch: APOEL's Efrem smacks unstoppable angled finish vs. Astana
Ruben Sprich / Reuters
Georgios Efrem looked to be edging APOEL Nicosia into the Europa League's knockout rounds with a superbly struck half-volley against FC Astana on Thursday.
The ex-Arsenal academy player was also trying to exact revenge on the Kazakhs, who qualified for the Champions League group stage last term after securing a 2-1 aggregate win over APOEL in a qualifier.
Unfortunately for the Cypriot side, that scoreline haunted it again. Astana stormed back in the second stanza to win, making the most of its numerical advantage after Inaki Astiz was dismissed on 33 minutes for a professional foul.