El Ouahdi scores for Genk
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SC Friborg suffered a setback before making their hoped-for debut in the quarter-final of the Europa League. Mainz 05 cannot go above zero in the Conference League in Olomouc, Czech Republic. But there is a risk of prolonged outage of winter access to Silas.
Friborg lost the first leg against Belgian club KRC Genk 0-1 (0-1) in the round of 16 and is under pressure before the reunion next Thursday (6:45 p.m.). Zakaria El Ouahdi scored the only goal of the evening (24th minute). After a generally unimaginative performance, Friborg once again failed away. In the Bundesliga, the sports club has only won two away victories this season and only one on the European stage.
In the past, Breisgauer’s team always finished in the round of 16 of the Europa League at the latest. In the 2022/23 season Juventus Turin was too strong, a year later West Ham United – then still under the leadership of iconic coach Christian Streich. The task for the second leg in front of the home crowd has now become much more difficult, SC is threatened with elimination. The Bundesliga home match against 1. FC Union Berlin is also on the schedule on Sunday (5:30 p.m./DAZN).
Coach Julian Schuster had warned about the strength of the eighth-placed Belgian team and the hosts started bravely. El Ouahdi scored the first goal. However, SC goalkeeper Noah Atubolu did not have to intervene. On the other side, Johan Manzambi threw the ball over the line. However, the Swiss prodigy was just offside, as shown by the video referee (9th).
Friborg also created chances later thanks to Igor Matanovic and Manzambi (11th/15th). The visitors took advantage of KRC’s reckless turnovers. Genk were waiting for a moment of change and finally scored after a one-two from El Ouahdi. Maximilian Eggestein was absent from Freiburg due to a red card. Without the midfielder, the Bundesliga club was missing an important stabilizer. Defense chief Matthias Ginter took on the role of spokesperson and tried to wake up his teammates. At least Yuito Suzuki represented another threat before the break with a shot against the post (38th).
Freiburg started the second half with more control. They now had more possession of the ball, but didn’t know what to do with it. Schuster made several changes on offense and loudly tried to influence the game. However, SC could not build on their strong performance in the 3-3 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the finals.
Injury shock overshadows Mainz draw in Czech Republic
FSV Mainz 05 retained their chance of reaching the first European Cup quarter-final in their history. The Bundesliga club drew 0-0 with Czech Cup winners Sigma Olomouc in the first leg of their Conference League round of 16 tie. In the return match next Thursday (6:45 p.m.), Mainz can secure their place in the next round with a home victory.
However, FSV had to come to terms with a potentially serious shin injury caused by winter recruit Silas, who was taken off the field on a stretcher midway through the second half.
Should the Rheinhessen reach the quarter-finals, they would face the winner of the match between Croatian club HNK Rijeka and Racing Strasbourg of France. Strasbourg won the first leg 2-1. Even reaching the round of 16 was a first in the European Cup for the 05ers.
Mainz went into the duel with Olomouc as the favorite. While FSV advanced directly to the round of 16 as seventh in the championship phase, Olomouc narrowly advanced to the second round in 24th place and surprisingly won against FC Lausanne-Sport of Switzerland. « Actually it doesn’t matter who is the favorite now, » sports director Christian Heidel told streaming service RTL+ before kick-off and added. “We know it’s going to be a very, very difficult number.”
And Heidel was right. The hosts started the first half better with only a few strong moments, but without really becoming dangerous. Out of nowhere, Mainz took the lead through Silas in the 24th minute with his first convincing offensive action. But the goal did not count because U21 European vice-champion Paul Nebel was offside. Nevertheless, FSV found its place in the game better. Silas forced Olomouc goalkeeper Jan Koutny to react with a header from close range (32nd). The final phase was once again marked by tactics. Both teams failed to develop any penetration. The score 0-0 at the break was logical.
Even after the break, the 05ers were reluctant to take the final risk. If this is the case, then the Bundesliga side have become dangerous from set pieces. However, Danny da Costa failed to put the necessary pressure on the ball with a header from a corner (59th). Minutes later, Silas was injured and carried on a stretcher with his hands above his head.
Mainz had to shake themselves from the shock before substitute Nelson Weiper was denied by Koutny with a close-range shot in the 78th minute after Nebel’s preparatory work. In the final phase, Olomouc was closer to victory. Also because Daniel Batz (88th) made another brilliant save against Michal Beran, the score remained 0-0. In stoppage time, another Mainz goal was disallowed for offside.
