FC Basel failed to return to the top of the table. Fabio Celestini's team only managed a 1-1 draw at home against Lausanne-Sport.
16.02.2025, 18:37
SDA
For a long time, FC Basel were well on their way to three points. The 1-0 lead taken by Kevin Carlos after just 183 seconds lasted for over an hour and seemed particularly solid when Fousseni Diabaté spoiled the dethroned leaders' Sunday evening with a direct free kick in the 67th minute.
The two teams played out a spectacular duel with many goal scenes. Little was missing in the second half and FC Basel would have extended their lead to two goals. Xherdan Shaqiri took center stage twice with brilliant passes, and twice the would-be goalscorer started from the offside. Bénie Traoré (62') and Kevin Carlos (64') rejoiced too soon. The equalizer, which came just a short time later, was all the more painful for the hosts.
Lausanne-Sport, who have struggled to convert their qualities into points this year, deserved this draw first and foremost because they responded so impressively to the 0:1 in the first half and caused FCB major problems in front of their own fans. Two goals were disallowed in the first 45 minutes due to an offside and a handball respectively.
There was nothing wrong with Fousseni Diabaté's 1:1. Three minutes after coming on as a substitute, the eleven-time Mali international fired a free kick from 18 meters into the crossbar, with Marvin Hitz still on the ball but only able to deflect it into his own net via the post.
The draw was also annoying for FC Basel because they had actually drawn the right conclusions from the difficult first half and had the majority of the game well under control after the break. There were chances to win after the 1:1. Shortly before the final whistle, defender Adrian Barisic came close to making it 2-1 when he put a free header next to the goal. However, Kevin Carlos' tenth goal of the season was a somewhat meagre return for the league's best offense on Sunday in view of the scoring chances.
