[11] Basel announced on 31 August that the contract between them and the 26-year-old Egyptian international Ahmed Hamoudi had been resolved on mutual consent with immediate effect.

One former player transferred back in from VfB Stuttgart, Geoffroy Serey Die,[22] who had left the club a year and a half before due to differences with the former team manager Paulo Sousa.

By the winter break Basel had extended their lead to 12 points ahead of the Young Boys who were in second place in the league table, winning 15, drawing two and only one defeat, scoring 49 and conceding just 15 goals in their 18 matches.

Despite that they suffered a defeat in the Stade de Suisse in round 34 against second placed Young Boys, Basel ended the season 17 points clear of their rivals.

Midfielder Jean-Paul Boëtius, so far without a single minute of play in the league, saved the team from possibly malicious comments, with the only goal of the game.

The FCRJ defended flawlessly until the 58th minute, before the Dutch Boëtius beat the brilliant amateur goalkeeper Diego Yanz for the only time.

Following corner from Jean Paul Boëtius to the rear post, the central defender jumped the highest to score an unsavable goal.

Basel's first chance came on eight minutes, a cross from Michael Lang was headed away by the defence but the ball landed at Jean-Paul Boëtius feet and his cross-goal shot made it 1–0 for the visitors.

After an hour FCB started to take things easier, changing a gear lower and so saved the lower-tier team from a runaway defeat.

The draw had given Basel home advantage and the St. Jakob-Park was full of atmosphere with an attendance of 25,259 fans, but the mood changed quickly as Oliver Buff put the visitors in front in the third minute.

Renato Steffen scored with a long range left foot effort on 75 minutes and Basel earned themselves the 3–1 win to qualify for the semi-final.

Basel keeper Tomáš Vaclík pushed one effort from Gianluca Frontino in extremis against the post and he made three further big saves before the break.

In the 51st minute referee Sascha Amhof awarded a penalty for Basel and this gave ground for many discussions after the match, because Winterthur's Captain Patrik Schuler played ball and man, in that order.

After half an hour it was FCB who had the first good opportunity, following a Matías Delgado corner Mohamed Elyounoussi's header went slightly wide of the post.

The second half began quite different, after just two minutes, Elyounoussi benefited from a mistake by Pa Modou and played to Seydou Doumbia, who found Delgado in a perfect finishing position, and the Argentine gave FCB the lead.

The Basel team had to survive a dangerous scene shortly afterwards, but Reto Ziegler's free kick from a favourable position flew well past the goal.

After about an hour of play Renato Steffen's effort was blocked, but Adama Traoré was well positioned and from close range he poked the ball between keeper Anton Mitryushkin's legs to make it 2–0.

There were no real dangerous moments in front of the FCB goal and in the end, the Basel team then made a visual treat with the last move of the game and to the 3–0 win.

He ran on to a measured pass from Marcelinho, he turned Marek Suchý inside out and slotted in a low shot past Tomáš Vaclík on 45 minutes.

But they created only few clear scoring opportunities, but were then given their chance to equalize as Ludogorets goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov flapped at defender Michel Lang's long cross.

Arsenal made two changes to the side that had beaten Chelsea in the Premier League on the previous Saturday, with David Ospina replacing Petr Čech between the posts.

Replacing the injured Francis Coquelin in the centre of midfield, Granit Xhaka started against the team he began his career with and also faced his brother Taulant for the first time in club football.

[43] The first was a lightning break from Arsenal, a ball over the top found Alexis Sánchez in acres of space in the right hand channel and he deftly whipped in a volleyed cross which the Englishman made no mistake with, burying his header past Vaclík.

Walcott strolled up to the edge of the box unchallenged, played a perfect one-two with Alexis Sánchez, who was standing with his back to goal, and clinically dispatched the return ball into the far corner, off the post.

In the 40th minute Blaise Matuidi's low cross was touched off by Edinson Cavani and Ángel Di María thundered his right-foot strike the ball into the roof of the net.

In the 93rd minute referee Deniz Aytekin from the German Football Association saw Cavani fall after a light touch from Basel defender Lang and awarded a penalty.

A corner was not properly cleared and Thomas Meunier pounced onto the loose ball, driving a fierce shot at goal through the crowd of bodies gathered in the middle.

The substitute way out on the by-line tried to pick out Marc Janko in the area with a cross, but instead he drifted a ball in that sailed over goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and into the net (76 minutes).

Basel substitute Seydou Doumbia managed a fine consolation goal for hosts, but this came on 78 minutes and was too late to make any change in the result.

Paris's 2–2 draw with Ludogorets meant Arsenal win Group A, Basel finished bottom and were eliminated from the European competitions.