2024-03-11 07:32:15
The players of Sparta suffered a 0:4 debacle in the 24th round of the first league in Pilsen, and at the top of the table they are now only one point ahead of the second Slavia.
Tomáš Chorý gave West Bohemia the lead in front of a sold-out stadium in the 45th minute, Cheick Souaré added four minutes after the break. After a while, visiting captain Ladislav Krejčí received a red card and Viktoria used the power play to score two more goals. First, the leader of the Gunners table, Pavel Šulc, and in the 70th minute Chorý scored for the second time.
Defending champions Sparta equaled their highest-ever defeat in a separate league, having previously suffered a 0:4 debacle in May 2019 also in Pilsen, in November 2021 in Slovácko and in October last year in Slavia. Letenský lost only for the second time in the season of the top competition. Viktoria won the league for the fifth time in a row, and from third place in the table, they lose eight points to Slavia, which they also managed to beat during the autumn.
“(In order to reach the fight for the title), we would probably have to play against Sparta and Slavia every week. Otherwise, they still have a big lead,” Pilsen coach Miroslav Koubek said at the press conference. “Nobody is satisfied with the way we performed. Nothing changes (in the fight for the title) from my point of view, three teams are still playing for it,” said Sparta’s Danish coach Brian Priske.
His charges lost by four goals for the second time in four days, on Thursday they suffered a 1-5 debacle at the hands of Liverpool in the opening round of 16 of the Europa League. Next week they have a rematch in England. On Thursday, Plzeň will welcome Servette Geneva in the second round of 16 of the European Conference League and will attack for promotion after the opening away goalless draw.
Neither team fielded the strongest line-up on paper. Sparta was missing Preciado, who was punished after being sent off in the derby with Slavia, and stable members of the starting eleven Kuchta, Birmančevič and Kairinen started only on the bench. West Bohemia coach Koubek, who previously worked at Letná as a goalkeeper and assistant coach, did not include Kopic or Mosquera in the starting line-up. Pilsen, like in the autumn during the 1:2 defeat at Sparta, started with three central midfielders, this time with Valenta, and Souaré was given priority on the edge of the pitch.
In the beginning, the West Bohemians defended in five tasks and left the initiative to the opponent. Letensi held the ball and combined for a long time, but did not get to the clear chance. In the 14th minute, after a quick break, Olatunji scored for Haraslín, but the returning Jemelka turned it away for a corner.
The home team gradually leveled the game and were better from the middle of the opening act. In a promising position, Chóry did not find any teammate with a pass, and in the 36th minute Kalvach’s shot from a free kick from an angle was saved by goalkeeper Vindahl.
After that, the Spartan goalkeeper ran to the edge of the box, Šulc went around him, but did not finish. In the 45th minute, the West Bohemians opened the scoring. Instead of a long kick, Panák inadvertently played in front of the goal to Červo, whose ground shot Vindahl just pushed in front of him. The catching up Chorý then pushed Panák and got the ball into the net twice.
“We were warned that Vindahl was having some problems with it, that he was getting ahead of himself. I was expecting it a bit and I was rewarded for it. I had a long leg, I still had to jump ahead of Panák. It was too many times, but fortunately it fell there,” said Chorý. “The first 40 minutes were balanced, maybe we were even a little better. But we were not good enough in the key moments. Of course, the first goal affected the match a lot,” said Priske.
Prague continued to slow down from the end of the first half even after the change of sides. In the 49th minute, after a deflected corner, Souaré stretched from behind the box and the underdog of the match, Panák, unluckily brought the ball over Vindahl. French winter reinforcement Viktoria scored his first goal in West Bohemia’s jersey.
“The second goal broke the game,” said Priske. “I am sure that Filip Panák did his best on the field as always. He made a few mistakes, which we are not normally used to with him, but that is part of football,” added the 46-year-old Danish coach, whose charges did not shoot between the posts for the entire match.
After a while it was even worse with the guests. Captain Krejčí received a second yellow card from referee Černý after a tackle on Choré and was sent off. The Spartans collected their eighth red card in the league season, which is the most of all teams. Krejčí himself received three of them.
Viktoria took advantage of the power play soon. Červ pushed past the opponent, stretched from the side into the goal, Chorý dropped the ball between his legs behind him, and the onrushing Šulc did not hesitate from close range at the end of the 61st minute. He scored his 14th goal in the league season and secured the lead in the Gunners table.
In less than 10 minutes, the starting home team added another goal. Souaré’s exemplary cross from the left side was cleared by the oncoming Chorý’s header from close range and he scored twice in one league match for the first time since last November. Sparta conceded four times in one top flight match for the first time since the 0:4 debacle at Slavia in October 2022.
Letenští could even unintentionally overcome their most crushing defeat in a separate league, Vindahl saved them from the fifth conceded goal after a header by substitute Traoré. Sparta lost only for the second time out of the last 23 away duels in the top competition. Pilsen, which has the best attack of the year with 59 goals, scored at home in the league against Letenský for the fourteenth time in the last 15 games.
“The decisive thing was that Pavel Šulc returned to the lineup. He is a player with a difference, he played famously. I can’t forget Tomáš Choré, who also gave a great performance,” said Koubek. “It’s a big victory. It’s a confirmation of our performance, which has been constant lately. I think it’s a well-deserved victory,” added the 72-year-old league’s oldest coach.
Viktoria Plzeň – Sparta Prague 4:0 (1:0)
Goals: 45th and 70th Chorý, 49th Souaré, 61st Šulc. Referee: Černý – Nádvorník, Podaný – Petřík (video). ŽK: Cadu, Dweh, Šulc, Souaré – Sadílek, Krejčí, Mejdr, Kairinen. ČK: 52. Krejčí. Audience: 11,611 (sold out).
Pilsen: Jedlička – Dweh, Hranáč, Jemelka – Cadu (64. Kopic), Kalvach (77. Traoré), Červ (88. Hejda), Valenta, Souaré – Chorý (77. M. Vydra), Šulc (88. Kliment) . Coach: Koubek.
Sparta: Vindahl – Vitík, Panák, Krejčí – Wiesner (57. Mejdr), Laci, Sadílek (72. P. Vydra), Ryneš – Karabec (57. Kairinen), Haraslín (57. Birmančevič) – Olatunji (57. Kuchta) . Coach: Priske.
| 1. | Sparta | 24 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 55:19 | 60 |
| 2. | Slavia | 24 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 50:17 | 59 |
| 3. | Pilsen | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 59:28 | 51 |
| 4. | Slovakia | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 33:28 | 38 |
| 5. | Ostrava | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 33:28 | 34 |
| 6. | Mlada Boleslav | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 40:38 | 33 |
| 7. | Olomouc | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 33:32 | 33 |
| 8. | Liberec | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 35:36 | 32 |
| 9. | Teplice | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 25:28 | 31 |
| 10. | Jablonec nad Nisou | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 31:36 | 28 |
| 11. | Hradec Králové | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 26:33 | 27 |
| 12. | Bohemians 1905 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 20:31 | 27 |
| 13. | Pardubice | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23:35 | 23 |
| 14. | Zlin | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 28:52 | 19 |
| 15. | Czech Budejovice | 24 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 25:52 | 18 |
| 16. | Karvina | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 23:46 | 16 |