FC St.Gallen kept up well with AC Fiorentina, but were beaten 4-2 in the end. blue Sport expert Alex Frei is not completely satisfied with the performance of the team from Eastern Switzerland.
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- FCSG coach Enrico Maassen is satisfied with his team's performance despite FC St.Gallen's defeat against AC Fiorentina.
- blue Sport expert Alex Frei would have liked the Espen to place a little more emphasis on defense.
- "With all due respect, maybe you should make sure you don't concede any goals if you want to get points," said Frei.
St.Gallen also lose their second game in the Conference League, but are in a much better mood after the 2:4 against Fiorentina than they were in the opening 2:6 at Cercle Brugge.
"I'm very pleased with the way we performed today. With a lot of energy, courage, joy and intensity - that's exactly what we set out to do," FCSG coach Enrico Maassen told blue Sport after the game. Of course, there was also a certain amount of anger because they conceded the goals a little too easily. "But in the end, the positive feeling outweighs that," said Maassen.
Ten goals conceded in two games for St.Gallen
It sounded similar on Wednesday evening after Young Boys' 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan in the Champions League: the good performance was a consolation for the next defeat. Alex Frei raised his warning finger in the blue Sport studio: "I agree, St.Gallen played a great match. So did YB on Wednesday. But the fact is: St.Gallen and YB have conceded 19 goals in five games."
The Nati record goalscorer would like to see the Swiss pay a little more attention to their defense in the European Cup. "With all due respect, maybe you should make sure you don't concede goals if you want to get points," said the 45-year-old.
Team too offensive?
Always losing honorably and saying how well you played is no fun in the long run. Frei: "Then I'd rather play dirty and win 1:0, that's better for my development."
Dennis Hediger is also of the opinion that FCSG should perhaps move away from their attacking style of play and try to be more defensive. "When the opponent is so strong, you are quickly punished because you are often too late when pressing. Then Fiorentina get the outside players free and they can make the difference. If you leave them on their own, it usually works," says the blue Sport expert.
"Fiorentina is not Inter or Juve"
Alex Frei can understand Enrico Maassen's desire to remain true to his playing philosophy. "But it's naive to believe that you can always play your style of play everywhere."
Frei can't really explain why they ended up settling for an honourable defeat: Fiorentina are a good team, "but they're not Napoli, Inter, Milan or Juventus. They are not the absolute highlight of Serie A."
After all, the team from eastern Switzerland certainly had the chance to get something at times. Frei: "You come close, but in the end it's not enough. That gives me pause for thought."
