Almost all of YB’s hopes for the match at Sporting rest on Meschack Elia: “I am a believer, so I believe in the turnaround in Portugal.”

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He also has a hard time against Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy. His rushes are often unfinished paintings. SLO keeper Vachoux parried his header excellently. His chip lands on the roof of the goal net instead of under the crossbar.

Elia missed the decisive penalty

Meschack Elia also does not offer a gala performance against the last team. But he brings a breath of fresh air to the YB game. And this after more than a month of absence due to the Africa Cup of Nations. There he reached the small final with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which his team only lost in a penalty shootout against South Africa. Because he missed the decisive seventh penalty. Digested?

«Digested. Yes. I didn’t have a choice either. Because when I came back to Switzerland, I immediately had to try to help my team in the match against Sporting Lisbon.” Last Thursday as a joker. The wing rocket came towards Mvuka after an hour, but could no longer bring down the goat. It was 1: 3 and it was 1:3 at the end. But in the second leg Elijah storms from the start.

Number six in YB’s European history

He is the one on whom much of YB’s hopes rest. After all, Elia has already scored seven European goals, making him the sixth-best YB shooter in history. However, the ones on the front may have completely different numbers. The number one, Guillaume Hoarau, scored no fewer than 19 times. Jean-Pierre Nsame 13 times. Christian Fassnacht ten times. Elijah is seven. But: Five of those were goals in big games. Three times in the Champions League: this season against RB Leipzig and Manchester City. Plus against Villarreal in 2021. Then in the premier class play-offs against Ferencvaros Budapest 2021. And a little earlier in the same year in the eighth finals of the Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen.

Never say never. Never!

Good keyword. YB survived a European knockout round for the first and last time in the new year. This goal has become far away after the 1:3 at home against the very strong Sporting. But in football: never say never. Never really. Immediately after the first leg, coach Raphael Wicky emphasized that it was only half time and that he firmly believed he could win at the Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon. And Elijah?

“I am a believer. I believe in God. So why not? For the believer, everything is possible. So why not win in Portugal?” Especially because Elia makes a fresh impression despite the hardships in Ivory Coast and the lack of holiday relaxation. “TRUE. I recovered well,” says the striker.

UEFA rankings: Ösis has overtaken us!

Wins/points from YB and Servette would be crucial, if only because of the UEFA rankings. With Sturm Graz’s 4-1 win in the Conference League play-offs against Slovan Bratislava, Austria overtook us. And Denmark lurks behind it.

Source : Blick