Anthony Annan stars but HJK crash out of UEFA Champions League

Ghana midfielder Anthony Annan put up a masterful display for HJK despite their 2-1 defeat at home to BATE Borisov to crash out UEFA Champions League playoff on Wednesday.

The Ghanaian star played full throttle as the Finnish side dropped to the Europa League following the setback.

The midfield general was at his utmost best at the Telia 5G-Arena in Helsinki, leashing out excellent performances in front of the home fans.

The 32-year-old was a thorn in the flesh of the visiting team with his sleek passing ability and connectivity at the heart of the park.

But HJK failed to make home advantage count after they lost thanks to Rafinha's own goal in the 20th minute and a strike by Igor Stasevich four minutes later.

Moshtagh Yaghoubi's strike in the 28th minute to not enough to hand them passage into the next stage of the qualifying campaign, losing 2-1 on aggregate.

Annan, who has been a key cog of the HJK side since joining from Stabæk two seasons ago, impressed heavily with his unique ball control and sublime skill-set.

The result means the Finnish side now drop into the Europa League.