Young Boys are back in the championship race. Jaouen Hadjam decides the home game against Lugano with his goal in the 84th minute.
23.02.2025, 19:06
23.02.2025, 19:15
SDA
The troublesome past few months for the Swiss champions are almost forgotten. All the missteps and embarrassments in the championship and Champions League. And all because Jaouen Hadjam benefited from a lot of space on his left side in the final phase, marched unhindered towards the penalty area and moved into the middle before surprising Lugano goalkeeper Amir Saipi with a shot into the far corner of the goal.
An action that changes everything for the time being, rewards the Bernese well for a mediocre performance on this Sunday afternoon and, above all, reduces the gap at the top of the table to five points. Anything is possible in the remaining 13 rounds, not least the successful title defense of Young Boys, who will face FC Zurich in the Cup quarter-finals on Thursday.
Hadjam's individual action was not the logical consequence of Bern's prolonged dominance. It was more a product of chance that decided a match that never really got into full swing. Both the Swiss champions and the dethroned leaders played cautiously. As a result, the big goals were few and far between. Lugano actually had the slightly better opportunities to score. In the opening phase, YB goalkeeper Marvin Keller prevented an early deficit and shortly after the break, the crossbar saved a shot from Renato Steffen.
But the most important thing is in the numbers: Instead of a possible eleven points behind Lugano, YB are only five points behind a top quartet that keeps stumbling. The Bernese race to catch up is definitely on.
Telegram:
Young Boys - Lugano 1:0 (0:0)
27'463 spectators. - SR Wolfensberger. - Goal: 84. Hadjam (Colley) 1:0.
Young Boys: Keller; Hadjam, Camara, Benito, Abdu Conté (65. Virginius); Lakomy (83. Colley), Lauper, Raveloson; Fassnacht (65. Ugrinic); Bedia (77. Itten), Monteiro.
Lugano: Saipi; Mai, Hajdari, Zanotti; Papadopoulos, Mahmoud (78. Doumbia), Grgic (87. Przybylko), Cimignani (78. Arigoni); Steffen (78. Mahou), Bislimi; Koutsias (65. Vladi).
Remarks: Cautions: 25 Koutsias, 42 Papadopoulos, 93 Raveloson.
