Swans' progress all but secured

Swansea 5 Petrolul Ploiesti 1

Swansea all but sealed their place in the group stages of the Europa League as they destroyed Petrolul Ploiesti 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 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 Ivory Coast 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.