- FC Zurich beat Grasshopper Club 2-1 in the 8th round of the Super League.
- Bledian Krasniqi (37th) and Antonio Marchesano (73rd) scored the goals for FCZ in the 283rd Zurich derby.
- GC is at least equal, but is not efficient enough in front of the goal. The goal comes too late.
With the 1:2 goal in the 90th minute for GC, there was once again some excitement in this 283rd Zurich derby. Substitute Francis Momoh delivered a sharp cross into the middle, where Selmin Hodza could only deflect the ball into his own goal.
And the record champions’ hope was actually back afterwards. After a corner, Kristers Tobers got the ball, shot straight away and forced Yanick Brecher to make a brilliant save. The FCZ goalkeeper prevented the equalizer in stoppage time, which would have been well deserved given the chances. Shortly afterwards, however, it was over – the FCZ left the abused Letzigrund turf as winners.
Good GC phase not rewarded
Before the brilliant final minutes, GC had had its best phase of the game after around an hour. The offense finally seemed to have ideas on how to score goals. The active left winger Theo Corbeanu missed a shot in the 65th minute after strong preparatory work by Pascal Schürpf. A few minutes later, Tobers first missed a good chance with his head, then called for a penalty in vain.
The Latvian was hit by his opponent, but for referee Fedayi San and the VAR it was not enough to warrant a penalty. And as is so often the case in football, things happened as they had to. Instead of 1:1 it was suddenly 2:0 for FC Zurich.
Substitutes hit
Fabian Rohner and Antonio Marchesano, who had been substituted just a minute earlier, scored the second goal of the game – with the kind help of the GC defense. Rohner set up for Marchesano, who scored with a powerful volley to make it 2-0. Efficiency made the difference between two teams on equal terms in Letzigrund.
Already in the first half, the Grasshoppers had not taken enough care of their chances, Filipe de Carvalho missed several times. On the other hand, Bledian Krasniqi took his first opportunity in the 37th minute to take the lead. Bitter for the “Hoppers”: A few seconds earlier they had been on the attack, but an incorrectly penalized offside position prevented them from advancing into the dangerous zone.
This is how it goes
The two Zurich clubs have to get back to work this weekend. GC meets YB again on Saturday in Letzigrund (live on SRF from 8:30 p.m.). The FCZ plays away at FC Luzern on Sunday (4:30 p.m.).