2024-03-15 01:56:08
In the home rematch of the round of 16 of the Europa League, the Slavia footballers lost 1:3 to AC Milan and ended the competition with a 2:4 result from the opening match.
The Slavists did not follow up on their progress to the quarter-finals in 2019 and 2021. In the era of coach Jindřich Trpišovský, they also made it to the top eight teams in the European Conference League in 2022. The highlight of Prague is the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in 1996.
The reigning Czech vice-champions, after five victories with a score of 17:0, failed for the first time in this European League season on their home field. Slavia lost for the second time out of the last seven home matches against Italian opponents, in 2019 in the Champions League, 1:3 was not enough against another big Milanese club, Inter. AC confirmed a good record against Czech clubs, Milan lost in only one of 14 cup matches against Czech opponents.
The remaining Czech representative in the Europa League is Sparta, which started at 21:00 for the round of 16 rematch in Liverpool. Letenský go into the match with a 1:5 defeat from the opening match.
Coach Jindřich Trpišovský made two changes to the starting line-up compared to the duel at San Siro. In place of the injured Masopust, captain Holeš moved into the reserves, and Ogbu started in the stopper pair alongside Zima. The punished Diouf, who received a red card a week ago, was replaced on the left by Wall. Coach AC Pioli deployed all his support, he only had to do without the carded defender Florenzi. Stopper Kjaer, who was on the bench exactly five years ago in the defeat of Sevilla 3:4 after extra time, after which Slavia celebrated its first ever advance to the EL quarter-finals in Eden, remained on the bench.
The home team entered the match with a rush and, driven by a sold-out Eden, pushed the famous opponent into his half. The Praguers were only hampered by the double treatment of the goalkeeper Maignan, who was already finished in the third minute by Vlček during the kick-off. Slavia could have rounded off a good start in the 14th minute, when Chytil kept Tomori on his back in the small area and forced the French goalkeeper to make a reflexive save with a shot from a turn.
“We were all looking forward to great football, but instead we didn’t play the first ten minutes due to treatment. But we had an active entry into the match, we tried to play under pressure and there was a goal chance as a result,” said Trpišovský at the press conference.
However, the turning point of the match came at the time of greatest pressure from the home team. Holeš stepped on the ankle of a sliding Calabria in the middle of the field in the captains’ duel, and Swedish referee Nyberg, after a long consultation with the video referee, went to the screen himself to check the replay. After another two minutes, he showed Holeš a red card, his second in European cups for Slavia. The Prague team lasted six minutes less time in full force than in the opening match, in which Diouf was sent off in the 26th minute.
“The bad taste remains in us, I don’t think it was a red card at all. Tomas backed up, the player was lying under him, the opponent sold it well. I don’t know at all why the referee went to the video, when he didn’t even whistle on the pitch,” wondered midfielder Lukáš Provod, who took over the captain’s armband from Holeš. “I don’t understand it at all, he didn’t even want to foul, he just covered the ball and the opponent put his foot under his leg. It’s really hard to bite. I’m mainly upset that it spoiled the match,” Trpišovský added.
The red card triggered emotions on the field and in the stands, from where several drinking cups flew onto the playing field in the following minutes. After a series of questionable fights on the edge of the foul, Trpišovský also received a yellow card for protesting.
The favorite calmed the stormy atmosphere with a series of chances after half an hour of play. At first, Staněk neutralized separate attacks by Pulisic and Lea with great saves, but in the 33rd minute, Pulisic deceived Zmrzlý in the penalty area and this time he did not hesitate in front of the national team goalkeeper. Three minutes later, Loftus-Cheek took advantage of his offer in front of an empty goal and, just like the American winger, followed up on the goal from the opening duel.
AC’s biggest star Leao added the third goal in a long eight-minute setup with an exhibition shelling from 20 meters. The last time Slavia lost the first half at home was 0:3 three years ago in the quarter-finals of the Europa League against Arsenal. “We learned from the first match, in which we also played for a long time in numerical superiority. But today we controlled the game more, we scored three goals and then it was quite clear,” said Pioli.
After switching sides, last year’s Champions League semi-finalists controlled the result. In the weakened state, Slavia did not get any scoring chances, on the contrary, in the 63rd minute, Giroud narrowly missed with a technical shot.
The home team threatened only in the 70th minute, when Tomič, after escaping on the right side, sent a hard shot two meters past the near post. However, the persistently cheering Slavia fans got the joy of a goal in the end. In the 84th minute, Jurásek elegantly took Zafeiris’ pass and hit the far post with a volley. The 20-year-old youth representative imitated his goal from Sunday’s league match against Teplice (4:0), in which he even scored twice.
Slavia lost at home for the third time in the season and did not follow up the victory from the group over another Italian club AS Rome (2:0). “I feel a lot of pride, we scored a lot of points and scored a lot of goals. We followed up on the European missions of previous years, we showed the quality and that the team has potential. It was a good year in Europe, now we have to transfer it to the league.” reviewed by Trpišovský.
Round of 16 second leg of the Europa League:
Slavia Prague – AC Milan 1:3 (0:3)
Goals: 84. Jurásek – 33. Pulisic, 36. Loftus-Cheek, 45.+6 Leao. Referees: Nyberg – Beigi, Söderqvist (all Swedes) – Higler (video, Netherlands). ŽK: Douděra, Tomič, Oscar, Trpišovský (coach) – Tomori, Gabbia, Leao. ČK: 20. Holeš (Slavia). Spectators: 19,344. First match: 2:4, AC Milan advanced.
Slavia: Staněk – Vlček (46. Tomič), Ogbu, Zima, Zmrzlý – Holeš, Oscar – Douděra (82. Schranz), Provod (82. Jurásek), Wallem (70. Zafeiris) – Chytil (59. Jurečka). Coach: Trpišovský.
AC Milan: Maignan (20. Sportiello) – Calabria (46. Kalulu), Tomori (46. Thiaw), Gabbia, Hernández – Adli, Musah – Pulisic (63. Chukwueze), Loftus-Cheek (76. Reijnders), Leao – Giroud. Coach: Pioli.