- In the catch-up game of the 3rd round of the Super League, FC Basel scored 2-0 in Lucerne.
- An early penalty goal from Darian Males and a goal from Bradley Fink shortly before the end decided the game.
- With that, FCB makes a set in third place in the table.
- In addition to this championship game, four round of 16 cup rounds took place on Wednesday evening, here is an overview.
Because of the national celebration in Lucerne, this game only took place three months later than planned and in the middle of the cup week. FC Basel started the game in Lucerne without any delay and immediately wide awake. Andi Zeqiri was hit in the face by Denis Simani’s elbow in the 3rd minute of an aerial duel in the penalty area.
After a VAR check, the referee decided on a penalty, and Darian Males sunk coldly against Marius Müller to make it 1-0. However, the FCB player only reluctantly celebrated his second Super League goal against his youth club.
Dräger fails on the crossbar
The home team needed a moment after this cold start, but then the FCL slowly developed into the better team on the pitch. Two top-class chances were missed within 3 minutes:
- 17 minutes: Lucerne’s top scorer Max Meyer gets the ball a few meters from the left post and pulls it away. FCB goalie Marwin Hitz is already beaten, but Arnau Comas can still save.
- 20 minutes: Mohamed Dräger takes a ball directly in the sixteen and pulls it off. But the Tunisian only hits the bar.
After these scenes, Basel defended better and prevented further big chances for the “Lichtenstadter”. This image then ran practically through the entire game. Lucerne was more in the forward gear, fought and looked for the offensive game. A draw would have been deserved long ago – only the solidary men of coach Alex Frei lacked the punch.
In the last quarter of the game, FCB was able to set a few pinpricks again. After one of those, Bradley Fink got the ball on the edge of the penalty area and sank it straight away to make it 2-0 and decide the game (87′). Fink – trained like Males in central Switzerland – also refrained from a big celebration out of respect for his former club.
But the rest of the Basel team was overjoyed. This means that Frei’s team has only managed their second away win in this championship and at the same time makes a big leap in the table: they have improved from 7th place to 3rd place and thus also leave Lucerne behind.
The frustration of the home team was great, after they had always scored 4 games in a row and now powered over long distances. Coach Mario Frick even saw the red card shortly before the end, apparently he had messed with the fourth official.
Here’s how to proceed
The last Super League round before the World Cup is on the program at the weekend. FCB travels to the Grasshoppers in the Letzigrund on Saturday, Lucerne has to trot to Leader YB in Bern the next day.