- 2-2 at Red Star Belgrade: The Bernese Young Boys missed their first win in the second group game in the Champions League after leading 2-1.
- Ugrinic and Itten (penalty) turn the game around in the second half. But Bukari shocked the Bernese in the 88th minute.
- In the second game of Group G, ManCity defeated Leipzig 3-1 away.
- Click here for the round-up of Wednesday’s games.
The YB fans will probably mourn Silvere Ganvoula’s chance for a long time. The Congolese striker put his header over the box from 5 meters in the 83rd minute. 5 minutes later, the otherwise extremely strong goalie Anthony Racioppi was caught in the near corner by Osman Bukari.
A draw is a fair result
Objectively speaking, the 2:2 corresponded to what was shown. Both teams played with an open mind. Tennis star Novak Djokovic saw a wild game from the stands and a strong reaction from the home team in the last half hour.
In the fight for third place in the group, the Swiss champions would have liked to steal 3 points from the Serbian capital. Coach Raphael Wicky’s team will, with some distance, draw a mostly positive conclusion.
YB with a turnaround in the second half
The Bernese showed cool heads for long stretches in the cauldron of the Marakana Stadium. YB showed the courageous performance required by Coach Wicky. From the start, the yellow-black team looked to be on the offensive. YB didn’t let setbacks throw them off course. For example, immediately after the break, 20-year-old Aurèle Amenda had to replace the injured Loris Benito. A short time later the score was 1:1 and after an hour the turnaround was perfect:
- 48th minute: Joël Monteiro plays the perfect pass into Filip Ugrinic’s path. The Lucerne native with Serbian roots finishes ice-cold.
- 60th minute: Ulysses Garcia shoots FCB loanee Nasser Djiga. After VAR consultation, Scottish referee William Collum points to the spot. Cedric Itten converts through the middle.
In their 7th guest appearance in the premier class, YB scored two goals for the first time. The Bernese team came very close to their first away win. Things were still looking bad for yellow and black at the break. The Serbs’ opening goal could hardly have been more annoying:
- The fatal 37th minute: YB allows the ball to be stolen after a corner in the opponent’s half of the pitch. Defense chief Aly Camara stops the counterattack with a foul. Belgrade’s captain Aleksandar Dragovic (ex-FCB) puts the disorganized YB defense in trouble with a long free kick ball. 5 Bernese cannot prevent the fatal pass from Bukari to Ndiaye. Goalie Anthony Racioppi has no chance.
However, two more offside goals from the Serbs were disallowed. At the end a side note of an eventful football evening.
Legend:
Impressive backdrop
Entry of the teams into the Marakana Stadium in Belgrade.
Keystone/Anthony Anex
ManCity wrestles Leipzig down late
Manchester City started this Champions League campaign as desired. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team celebrated their second win in their second game in Leipzig. Joker Julian Alvarez (84th) scored the decisive goal to make it 2-1. Jérémy Doku put the lid on it in stoppage time. The “Citizens” took the lead through Phil Foden (25th). Loïs Openda converted a counterattack to equalize shortly after the restart. Manuel Akanji couldn’t stop the Belgian either.
This is how it continues
YB will host defending champions Manchester City on October 25th. Red Star makes a guest appearance in Leipzig.