Adam Al-Abd's Brighton faced Crystal Palace away from home in the first leg of the playoffs semi-final encounter as they look to clinch the final spot for Premier League promotion alongside Cardiff and Hull City. The game ended in a goalless draw which means Brighton will enter the second leg with a light advantage over their opponents as they managed to get away with a vital clean sheet. Al-Abd watched from the bench once again as Gustavo Poyet started with the same team that started their last game in the regular season. Unfortunately, Al-Abd will have few complaints as his fellow defenders are doing a great job in recent games after Brighton finished the league with the best defence in terms of goals conceded. If Brighton manages to beat Crystal Palace in their second leg they will face Watford City who defeated Leicester City 3-2 on aggregate. Mohamed Salah played a starring role as Basel took a huge step towards clinching the league title when they defeated Servette 2-0 at home. Both Salah and Al-Nenni played the full game with the former assisting the first goal after a wonderful run. The ball was played to Basel behind the defenders and Salah pulled it back brilliantly to Stocker who slotted home to open the scoring for the home team. Apart from his assist, Salah played a very good game and tormented the opponents' defenders throughout using his frightening speed and box of tricks. On the other hand, Al-Nenni was his usual self in the middle of the park as he dictated the play well and showed his class with some crisp passing and decent defending. The win keeps Basel on the top of league six points clear of Grasshopper who lost to Zurich this week to widen the gap at the top. In Portugal, Ahmed Hassan Kouka helped Rio Ave beat Gil Vicente 2-1 at home after he scored the winner from the penalty spot seven points from the end. That was Kouka's eighth of the campaign in only his first season in Europe. The 20-year-old striker cried when he scored the winner. After the match Kouka explained his actions after the goal by saying that luck stood against him all game and that he feared costing his side the three points after missing two easy chances prior to the winner. The winning goal was a huge relief for the Egyptian star who's having an amazing first season in the Portuguese league. The win took Rio Ave to eighth place in the league table. In Italy, Ahmed Hegazi finally made an appearance for Fiorentina before the season ends. The young defender came on for the last 15 minutes in his side's 1-0 win over Palermo at home. Hegazi returned to full training from injury less than one month ago and made the squad in his side's last two games only so it wasn't really expected that he'll see any action in the remaining games of the league. Hegazi looked so comfortable and so focused in his short cameo and he'll definitely be hoping to start their last game of the season if Savc fails to recover in time. The Viola stayed fourth after the win. In the UAE, Egyptian Mohamed Abu Treika once again justified his status as a true legend but this time in the Emirates, not his Egypt. Banni Yas faced Najran in the Gulf Champions League second leg after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the first leg clash which Abu Treika missed through injury. Banni Yas was leading by a single goal until the 92nd minute until Abu Treika did what he does best and popped up with an absolutely sensational goal to win the encounter for his team and send Banni Yas to the final. Treika received the ball inside the box and dazzled through defenders and finished emphatically with a shot in the far corner. The fans and the bench celebrated Treika's winner wildly as they knew that heading to extra time and penalties was putting the win at risk but Treika's brilliance decided the game in the last minute yet again. It was a performance not dissimilar to the last-gasp goal Treika scored against Sfaxi of Tunisia that gave his former club Ahli the African Champions League in 2006. Arab and African: In England, Togolese star Emanuel Adebayor scored in his side's two games this week with his first coming against Chelsea in the 2-2 draw and his second coming in a 2-1 win over Stoke with Ade scoring the winner five minutes from time. In France, Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou scored a brace for Lille as they defeated Reims 3-0 at home. Ghanaian sensation Andre Ayew played a starting role and scored a brace for Marseille as they defeated Toulouse 2-1 at home. Former Ismaili striker and Nigerian star John Utaka scored a consolation goal for Montpellier as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bastia.
