- FC Basel wins the last group game of the Conference League away at Pjunik Yerevan 2-1 and makes it into the knockout phase.
- Darian Males (17th) and Anton Kade (30th) meet for FCB. In the second half, Dan Ndoye flies off after a yellow-red dive.
- Because Slovan Bratislava wins in the 2nd game of the group at Zalgiris Vilnius (2:1), Basel finishes the group stage in 2nd place.
Ultimately, it was a hard-fought success in Armenia for FC Basel. After a rencontre in the Yerevan penalty area, Dan Ndoye was sent off in the 53rd minute for an alleged swallow with yellow-red. After the numerical superiority, Pjunik Yerevan took control of the game and mostly pushed FCB into their own half. But because the Armenians’ attempts to finish usually only created little danger, the “red-blue” were spared the big tremors in the end.
FCB goalie Mirko Salvi only had to be defeated once. After 72 minutes, Liam Millar allowed the ball to be stolen from his own penalty area. Aleksandr Karapetyan hit the post, Luka Juricic converted from close range to make it 1:2.
Strong 1st half
Before Ndoye was given an unnecessary red card, Basel had the game under control in the first half. Darian Males opened the scoring after 17 minutes after being launched from deep by Andy Diouf. And 13 minutes later, Conference League debutant Anton Kade made it 2-0. He enjoyed too much freedom in the penalty area and flicked the ball into the corner.
Legend:
The goal scorer to 2:0 and the beaten goalie
Anton Kade and David Yurchenko.
keystone/EPA/PHOTOLURE
FCB refrained from any offensive efforts in the second half, but defended compactly, forcing Yerevan to try their luck with long-range shots. Alex Frei’s team managed not to lose a 2-0 lead in the Conference League for the second time in a row. Thanks to the victory in Armenia – on Asian soil – Basel overwinters in Europe.
Missed group win
Because Slovan Bratislava didn’t show any weaknesses in the parallel game in Group H and won 2-1 at Zalgiris Vilnius, the Basel team ended the group stage in 2nd place. The Lithuanians reacted to Aleksandar Cavric’s double strike (15’/23′) with a goal from Francis Kyeremeh (47′), but that was all it took.
This means that FC Basel will continue next year in the intermediate round of the Conference League against a third party from the Europa League. The first leg will take place on February 16th, the second leg a week later. The draw for this round will be made in Nyon next Monday.