YB for the Champions League cracker: finally emancipate themselves from FCB against ManCity

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How many times have you heard from the north-west of Switzerland in recent years: FCB is the only important collector of coefficient points. That was the case within a few years. Last season, for example, when the team from Basel fought its way to the semi-finals of the Conference League (despite a miserable championship with 5th place). FCB achieved no less than 22.5 points, YB only got 5. Because the Bernese missed the group stage of the Conference League.

This year the picture is different. Basel is at a lean point. And it will remain that way. YB is at 6.5. But because the (coefficient) grapes in the premier class are very high considering the opponents, YB will hardly end up in the FCB region. The Bernese long for a big exclamation point all the more. Preferably in the form of a win (or a draw) against the defending champions. Currently the best team in the world, both officially and in the perception of the fans.

Win 1: The last group match against Juve

YB has recorded one win in each of their two Champions League appearances. And neither against mediocre teams like Atalanta Bergamo, Villarreal or Valencia. No, in 2018 the Bernese defeated Juventus Turin. The still great Juve! They had just become champions for the seventh time in a row and were Champions League finalists in 2017. The only downside to the 2-1 (twice Hoarau) in the last group match was that Juve had already qualified and YB was last. However, if Manchester United had not lost to Valencia then, Juve would have missed out on first place in the group. Against YB.

Win 2: Against Manchester United starts

Completely different in 2021. Yellow Black defeated Manchester United in the first group match. Anyone who was in Wankdorf on September 14 will never forget the electric shock in the 95th minute when Jordan Siebatcheu took advantage of a short back pass from Jesse Lingard to score the winning goal. It’s YB’s finest European moment of modern times. It can only be compared to the 1-0 win against Reims in the semi-finals of the Master Cup in 1959, when the Wankdorf Stadium with 60,000 fans threatened to burst at the seams.

Last season, Manchester United had finished second before Cristiano Ronaldo returned from Juventus and the Mancunians were top of the Premier League at the time of the match. Then came YB… and from then on nothing worked at Man Utd. The Red Devils lost five of the next eight games. Coach Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer was fired. Despite the YB handicap, the English team won their group with a bang, but failed in the round of 16 against Atletico Madrid.

This excellent win by YB has not yet received the recognition it should. Probably because things only went downhill for Man Utd after that.

Big, bigger city

And now Manchester City. The measure of all things. But after an excellent start to the season, the engine started to stutter a bit. Not in the Champions League. They defeated Red Star Belgrade 3-1. Only 3-1, as the first half, which ended 1-1, saw City set a new record of 22 shots on target since this data was collected (2003/04). In return, City then won without discussion 3-1 against the in-form Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.

This is the unconditional good. But in the Championship, the Citizens recently beat Brighton 2-1 and had previously lost to feared opponents Arsenal and, surprisingly, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Negative highlight of September: away in the League Cup against Newcastle. City have lost three times in the last five games.

Benito: the most watched team in the world

So Haaland and Co. come at just the right time? One thing is clear: YB needs to drastically reduce the error rate. The five goals conceded in the first two Champions League matches were partly due to dramatic mistakes.

And YB must find a cure for the Haalands, Alvarez and Fodens of this world. What did veteran Loris Benito say in the “Berner Zeitung”? “Manchester City is the most watched team in the world. And yet they play every team the way they play.” What Benito didn’t say and probably thought: Still, most teams wouldn’t find a way to combat it. If YB succeeds, the players will no longer just talk about “the biggest game from my career” like Lewin Blum. But about the “greatest success”. And even at the Rhine Knee they took their hats off.

Source : Blick