- After difficult weeks, FC Basel celebrated their second win in a row and defeated Servette 2-1 in the 32nd round of the Super League.
- FCB had two goals denied, Thierno Barry and Anton Kade made the decision with two counterattacks shortly before half-time.
- In the other Sunday games, YB welcomes Lucerne, while Winterthur has to play at Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy.
It was loud in the final phase in St. Jakob-Park, because FC Basel was well on its way to ending two long black series: On the one hand, they had last beaten Servette in March 2022, and on the other hand, they had not won at home for over two months .
And the spectators in Basel really made a noise when Anton Kade scored the decisive 3-1 in the 73rd minute. But for the second time this afternoon, an FCB goal was disallowed. Thierno Barry was offside and decisively disturbed Servette keeper Joël Mall. So the tension in an attractive Super League game remained until the end. But the Servettiens were no longer able to equalize. Basel earned the victory with a lot of effort and a good deal of offensive cold-bloodedness.
The VAR shocks Rüegg
An animated starting phase with chances on both sides culminated in Kevin Rüegg’s advance after 17 minutes. After Barry, who was once again conspicuous, won the ball, Kade asserted himself strongly on the right side. The advanced Rüegg easily sank his pass. But in the middle of the celebration, the full-back was deprived of his first goal of the season. The VAR revealed a foul by Barry during the build-up to the game.
Despite the shock, Basel remained in control. But only until after half an hour an invisible switch somewhere was flipped. Suddenly the Servettiens were creating chances every minute. Severin Yoan was decisively disturbed with the header, Dereck Kutesa missed and Keigo Tsunemoto’s half-volley bid for goal of the month was a few centimeters in the way.
Textbook counterattack
Wave after wave of Geneva attacks shattered the Basel bulwark. Then, out of the oft-quoted void, FCB answered the question: “What does a perfect counterattack look like?” And this twice:
- 43rd minute: The omnipresent Barry launches the counterattack. With his weaker left foot he hits a dream pass into Kade’s path. He can attack Geneva-Goalie Mall alone. With the subsequent bounce ball, the German has luck on his side and the ball lands in the goal.
- 45.+1 minute: After a long ball – half pass, half attempt to clear – Kade runs over Steve Rouiller. The 20-year-old has an eye for the storming Barry. He stays cool and catches Mall between the legs. It is the 21-year-old Frenchman’s 8th goal of the season.
After the restart, Servette pressed for the goal. This came after less than a quarter of an hour: Steve Rouiller won the header duel against ex-Grenat Nicolas Vouilloz after a corner. With his second goal of the season, the captain brought back the belief in countable things. Ultimately in vain.
While Basel is gaining more breathing room after its second win in a row in the fight against Barrageplatz, Servette is threatening to say goodbye to the title fight after its fourth defeat in a row. YB could already expand its lead over Servette to 8 points. The beneficiary is Lugano, which took second place after this round at the expense of Geneva.
This is how it goes
In the last round before the division of the table, Servette welcomes the Grasshopper Club Zurich on Saturday evening. Basel will be visiting Lucerne on Sunday.