Nobody concedes fewer goals: FCB suddenly has the best defense in the competition under Celestini

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Certainly, FCB striker Thierno Barry (21) was the big figure in the 1-0 win over St. Gallen with his dream goal. The team from Basel owes their hard-fought success not only to their new crowd favorite, but also to their increasingly solid defense. Against the Espen they played to nil for the fourth time in the last six games.

Overall, no Super League team has conceded fewer goals since Fabio Celestini, 48, took charge of FCB in November. Only ten goals are conceded in twelve games, four of them in the 1:4 against Servette, in which the team from Basel had to play in the minority for a long time after an early broadcast. By comparison, Basel conceded ten goals in the four games alone under Heiko Vogel.

Barisic also shone against St. Gallen

The star in Basel’s new defense is Adrian Barisic (22). As has almost always been the case in recent weeks, the Bosnian international also excelled against St. Gallen, winning all his aerial duels and ultimately shining with an excellent success rate of 92 percent.

The newcomer from Osijek repeatedly showed signs of his potential in the autumn, but even he could not prevent the team from sinking to the bottom of the table. “I don’t know if I’m playing better now than at the beginning of the season,” says Barisic. “But the statistics don’t lie. A lot has changed within the team since Fabio arrived.”

“Now we are a real team”

Celestini left his tactical mark on the team. When no one is suspended or injured, the Lausanne player always relies on a back four with Schmid, Barisic, Frei and winter newcomer Vouilloz. With this defensive quartet, FCB only conceded one goal this year. «Fabio has a clear idea of ​​what we have to do. That is how we implement it,” says Barisic.

But it is not just the new defensive stability that is responsible for FCB’s revival. “At the beginning of the season we had a lot of new players. “That took some time,” Barisic explains. “Now we are a real team, everyone fights for each other. That gives you self-confidence.”

Barisic is still not completely satisfied with his performance against St. Gallen. Just before the half-time whistle, his header against the crossbar narrowly missed Basel’s opening goal. “If we hadn’t won, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep today,” says the central defender. Thanks to Barry’s dream box, Barisic avoids a sleepless night.

Source : Blick