English
Celje Shows Superiority Against FC Lugano in UEFA Europa Conference League
Thun, Switzerland – In a match held at the Stockhorn Arena, Celje convincingly defeated FC Lugano in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. The match, officiated by Dutch referee Sander van der Eijk, concluded with a resounding scoreline in favor of the Slovenian team.
Celje opened the scoring in the 35th minute with a goal from D. Sturm, assisted by an unidentified player. FC Lugano suffered an additional setback before halftime when M. Belhadj received a yellow card in the 42nd minute. Just before the end of the first half, F. Kovacevic extended Celje’s lead by converting a penalty in the 44th minute.
In the second half, Celje continued to dominate. M. Zabukovnik scored a goal in the 59th minute, assisted by Juanjo Nieto. FC Lugano struggled to find their rhythm, but Celje remained steadfast. In the final minutes, F. Kovacevic scored another penalty in the 84th minute, followed by a goal from M. Kvesic in the 89th minute, assisted by N. Iosifov, sealing the victory for Celje.
Despite having a slight advantage in ball possession (51% against 49%), FC Lugano failed to translate it into clear goal-scoring opportunities. Of their 15 shots, only 4 were on target. Celje, on the other hand, showed greater effectiveness, with 10 of their 16 shots directed at the goal. FC Lugano committed 13 fouls and received two yellow cards (M. Belhadj and L. Mai), while Celje committed 12 fouls and received no cards.
Celje took an important step towards the next phase of the competition, showing an offensive game and a solid defense. FC Lugano will need to rethink their strategy for the return leg if they want to keep their hopes alive in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Refereeing was handled by Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands).
Substitutions fc lugano: at minute 46 M. Belhadj came in and G. Koutsias went out., at minute 46 U. Bislimi came in and A. Grgic went out., at minute 61 M. Bottani came in and D. Dos Santos went out., at minute 61 A. El Wafi came in and M. Zanotti went out., at minute 67 M. Zanotti came in and A. Hajdari went out.
Substitutions celje: at minute 78 L. Bejger came in and M. Boben went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
FC Lugano
Titulares:
Celje
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