Everything is wide open in the battle for the last place in the Super League after the first leg of the barrage. Aarau and Grasshoppers drew 0-0.
18.05.2026, 22:39
18.05.2026, 22:55
SDA
There was no discernible difference in class between the Challenge League runners-up and the Super League runners-up. Now the decision must be made on Thursday at the Letzigrund in Zurich.
Aarau and GC did not offer any footballing delicacies at the Brügglifeld. Compelling offensive actions were in short supply, and in the end neither team scored a statistically expected goal. As the home team, Aarau did a little more for a lucky punch, but without a tangible result.
GC in particular had caused a stir in the run-up to the match. Due to the construction work for the Metallica concert at the beginning of next week, the Letzigrund was not available on the original date of the barrage (Saturday, May 23). And because of past riots by GC supporters, the Zurich team was unable to find another stadium for the second leg.
As a last resort, the barrage was brought forward by two days - the first leg was scheduled for Monday and the second leg for Thursday. And because GC did not want to play the last championship match on Saturday with the senior team due to the short recovery time, coach Peter Zeidler traveled to Lausanne with the U21s without further ado.
While GC were able to line up on Monday evening with rested players - the senior team played their last game last Tuesday - Aarau had to digest the disappointment of missing out on direct relegation in the past few days and come to terms with the short recovery time. The Challenge League club only played their last game of the season against Yverdon-Sport on Friday (2:2 after leading 2:0).
However, these advantages on the Grasshoppers' side did not really pay off in the first leg. Eleven years after Aarau were relegated to the second-highest Swiss league, they have kept their chances of returning to the top flight alive. Unlike a year ago, when the same two teams faced each other in the barrage and GC already led 4-0 after the first leg.
