La Chaux-de-Fonds

Pushed to its limits by Délémont in the first round, FC Sion did not tremble to reach the 1/8 finals of the Swiss Cup. It won 2-0 in Zurich against YF Juventus.

Facing the Promotion League team, the Sion side forced the decision thanks to the efficiency of Théo Bouchlarhem. The Frenchman opened the scoring in the 27th minute before provoking the penalty for 2-0 converted by Kevin Bua in the 56th minute. FC Sion therefore did not get tangled up in a match that nevertheless smelled like a trap.

Another French-speaking Super League team competing on Friday, Yverdon Sport had a more complicated evening in Emmen. Trailing after only 3 minutes of play by the 2nd inter league team, the Vaudois nevertheless turned the score around before the break thanks to Mitchy Ntelo and Hugo Komano. The Belgian and the Frenchman removed a big thorn from the side of their coach Alessandro Mangiarratti. An elimination against such an opponent at this stage of the competition would have, in fact, been a stain.

Finally, in the top clash of the evening, the Grasshoppers won 2-0 in Thun to confirm their success in the last promotion/relegation play-off. Sonny Kittel and Nikolas Muci scored for the Zurich team against a somewhat timid Challenge League leader.

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Servette host Chelsea tonight at 8:30pm in the Conference League play-off return leg. Beaten 2-0 in London in the first leg, Geneva need a feat to reach the group stage.

However, Chelsea seems to have found their form again. On Sunday in the Premier League, the Blues won 6-2 at Wolverhampton, thanks in particular to a hat-trick from Madueke and a Palmer on fire, with a goal and three assists. The mission of the Servettiens therefore looks very difficult.

‘Make the impossible possible’: this is the plea formulated by Thomas Häberli on the eve of crossing swords with Chelsea. ‘We still have a chance of qualifying,’ says the Servette coach. ‘We must always believe in it.’ But the reasons to believe in it are not legion. There is the score of the first leg, Chelsea’s XXL squad and the absence of a real goalscorer in their ranks to measure the scale of the task awaiting the Grenat if they intend to qualify for the league phase of the Conference League.

Everything can catch fire

‘We shouldn’t talk about a comeback. We didn’t concede four or five at Chelsea,’ Thimothé Cognat emphatically emphasises. ‘It’s ‘only’ 2-0. If we score quickly, everything can go up in flames.’ Buoyed by a packed stadium – 28,000 spectators including 1,200 London supporters – the half-back and his teammates dream of making a perfect start so that this match offers a real duel.

Still in the Conference League, St. Gallen travels to Turkey at 7:00 p.m. to face Trabzonspor. The draw was 0-0 a week ago. In Trabzon, Enrico Maassen’s team hopes to open the doors to a second European campaign eleven years after eliminating Spartak Moscow in the Europa League play-offs. The Brodeurs coach believes that ‘everything is open’.

Finally, in the Europa League play-off return leg, Lugano will also play in Turkey: the bianconeri will face Besiktas Istanbul. The first leg ended in Thun with a 3-3 draw. The Ticino team have a wild card: in the event of a defeat, they will be relegated to the Conference League.

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Unless a miracle occurs in the double confrontation against Chelsea, Servette FC will not experience a European destiny this season. The Grenat failed against Sporting Braga.

Having impressed last Thursday in the 0-0 draw from Portugal, Servette FC lost 2-1 at the Stade de Genève in front of 15,179 spectators in the return match of the 3rd preliminary round of the Europa League. This defeat, which is beyond discussion due to the poverty of their offensive expression, forces the Grenat to challenge Chelsea for a place in the group stage of the Conference League. Even if Chelsea is no longer the great Chelsea, the task awaiting the Genevans seems insurmountable.

An absence too heavy

There was still room to pass against the fourth-placed team in the last Portuguese championship. Dereck Kutesa’s goal in the 91st minute reminded us, unfortunately too late, that Braga’s defense was not invulnerable. The intensity at the start of the match should have raised many hopes. But as the minutes went by, the public understood that their team is not really equipped this summer to compete on the European stage. The absence of a valuable No. 9 that Enzo Crivelli and Jérémy Guillemenot are is too heavy.

Like last week in Braga, caution was the first order issued by the two coaches. The first half was thus much too closed to give the public the opportunity to really get excited. There was only one real chance before the break. It was for Braga and, above all, it was converted by Amine El Ouazzani for the opening goal in added time. Unable to draw up an attack worthy of the name in the absence of Miroslav Stevanovic and Dereck Kutesa, on the bench, the Grenat returned to the locker room with the feeling of having to climb a summit in flip-flops.

Crivelli’s chance

Servette FC could have come back into the game in the 52nd minute. However, Crivelli was too short on a cross from David Douline. It was Timothé Cognat who found the gap on the only dangerous action by the Grenat.

The introduction of Dereck Kutesa in the 63rd minute did not really change the situation. The man who seems ready to give in to the Saudi sirens no longer has the drive that allowed him twelve months ago to open the scoring against Rangers on a memorable evening. Six minutes after the introduction of the Swiss international, Sporting Braga signed the 2-0 to put the affair away through Roberto Fernandez at the conclusion of a beautiful move. Kutesa’s goal in added time was only that of honour.

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