Beltran's late penalty sends Fiorentina into Europa Conference League final for 2nd straight year

BRUGGE, Belgium (AP) — A late penalty from Lucas Beltran that rewarded Fiorentina's intense pressing ensured the Italian team progressed to the Europa Conference League final for the second straight year with an aggregate 4-3 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday.

Fiorentina, which lost to West Ham in the title match last year, will face either Olympiakos or Aston Villa in the May 29 final in Athens. The Greek team hosts its English Premier League rival on Thursday holding a 4-2 lead from the first leg in England.

Fiorentina is now unbeaten in its last 13 European matches.

Beltran’s goal secured a 1-1 draw after Brugge captain Hans Vanaken put the hosts in front with a first-half goal to level the tie. Fiorentina had prevailed 3-2 in the first leg in Italy.

Club Brugge was in control early on at the Jan Breydel stadium. Playing in front of the backline, Ghana international Denis Odoi was excellent in mastering the midfield with Vanaken as Fiorentina players were pegged back in their half and defended with pugnacity.

Brugge found an opening in the 20th minute when Vanaken delivered a precise cross for Maxim De Cuyper in the box. The defender tried to head the ball home but could not connect with it, and it went straight into the back of the net.

Brugge suddenly lost its focus after scoring and allowed Fiorentina to kickstart its match with a series of chances.

Back from injury, Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made an excellent save to win a one-on-one with Nicolas Gonzalez. Forward Christian Kouame then came close with a stunning half-volley that struck the crossbar and bounced in front of the goal line.

Both sides looked threatening after the interval, with Fiorentina gradually taking control of the game.

The Italian team had a first chance to level the scoring from a free kick that Cristiano Biraghi fired onto the crossbar in the 74th. Fiorentina then hit the woodwork for the second time in the next minute as Kouame headed a cross off the post.

The Italian club’s efforts were rewarded in the 85th minute when Brandon Mechele conceded a penalty for a foul in the box. Beltran took the kick and sent the ball past Mignolet with a precise low shot.

Vanaken had a last opportunity to send the game into extra time after Odoi was sent off for a second booking, only for Filippo Terracciano to produce a fine save in stoppage time.

Fiorentina has now reached a European club competition final for the sixth time. Brugge's last appearance at a continental final was in 1978 when it lost to Liverpool in the European Cup title match.

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Brugge's Maxim De Cuyper, left, heads the ball as Fiorentina's Nicolas Gonzalez, second left, defends during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Players celebrate after Brugge's Maxim De Cuyper scored the opening goal during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, right, reaches out for a save during an attempt by Brugge's Igor Thiago during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's Lucas Beltran, right, goes after the ball with Brugge's Hugo Vetlesen during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's Lucas Martinez Quarta, left, goes up against Brugge's Igor Thiago during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's head coach Vincenzo Italiano, right, during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Brugge's Hugo Vetlesen, left, fights for the ball with Fiorentina's Lucas Beltran, center, during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's Lucas Beltran, center, shoots a penalty shot during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fiorentina's Lucas Beltran, left, celebrates after scoring his sides first goal on a penalty during the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Fiorentina at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating.

Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV said the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Traveling with Raisi were Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and other officials, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word “crash” to describe the incident, but he acknowledged to an Iranian newspaper that he had yet to reach the site himself.

Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisi’s condition.

Rescuers were attempting to reach the site, state TV said, but had been hampered by poor weather conditions. There had been heavy rain and fog reported with some wind. IRNA called the area a "forest."

Raisi had been in Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River. The visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijan's Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan's diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran's Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.

Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Raisi, 63, is a hard-liner who formerly led the country’s judiciary. He is viewed as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after his death or resignation from the role.

Raisi won Iran's 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.

Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemen's Houthi rebels and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

FILE- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi places his hands on his heart as a gesture of respect to the crowd during the funeral ceremony of the victims of Wednesday's bomb explosion in the city of Kerman about 510 miles (820 kms) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Jan. 5, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, May 19, 2024, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)