The Egyptian winger's two goals include a brilliant strike as Basel move to within touching distance of a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage after beating Ludogorets 4-2 in Bulgaria Red-hot Mohamed Salah produced a virtuoso display that yielded two goals in Bulgaria, including a stunning volley, as Swiss side Basel moved to the brink of a place in the European Champions League group stage. Basel secured a 4-2 victory at Bulgaria's Ludogorets in the first leg of the Champions League playoff on Wednesday, thanks in part to the relentless efforts of Salah, who refused to celebrate his two goals, apparently due to the ongoing political turmoil in Egypt. The Egyptian prodigy, who was replaced in the 88th minute, wreaked havoc in Ludogorets' defence and was unlucky not to complete his hat-trick on a couple of occasions in the latter stages. He took his tally to three goals in Europe's elite club competition this season. Fellow Egyptian international Mohamed El-Neny pulled the strings in midfield as Basel outplayed the Bulgarians. Salah silenced the home crowd with a stunning strike after 12 minutes. He beat the offside trap to neatly control a long ball in the area before finding the far corner of the net with an unstoppable left-foot volley from a tight angle. Brazilian midfielder Marcilenho brought the hosts level midway through the first half and Ivan Stoyanov put them ahead in the 50th minute but Salah once again ghosted behind a static backline to restore parity nine minutes later. He latched onto another long ball to break clear and calmly slot the ball under advancing keeper Vladislav Stoyanov, who jumped in anticipation of a possible chipped effort. Giovanni Sio restored Basel's one-goal cushion with a third goal four minutes past the hour mark. Salah continued to torment Ludogorets' defence with his trademark mazy runs down the flank and he almost completed his hat-trick in the 79th minute but his close-range effort was saved by Stoyanov. There was still time for Salah to heap more misery on Ludogorets. He burst clear with eight minutes remaining to win a penalty that led to the dismissal of Junior Caicara, who received his marching orders for a last-man foul on the former Arab Contractors forward. Fabian Schar converted the spot kick to complete Basel's precious victory in Sofia. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter@AO Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports)## http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79641.aspx
