Magnin proud of courageous Lausanne team after top 6 finish

Ludovic Magnin also wears his heart on his sleeve in interviews. The former international has often raved in recent weeks, when his team was not doing as well as in the first part of the season. But when his team wins, he can praise them passionately and tell anecdotes - like after the 2:0 against Lugano one day after his 46th birthday.

The hot-blooded coach spoke to blue Sport about the team's soul, which was back in the all-important match for a place in the championship round. "I sensed it in training and told the players that if we play the way we trained, Lugano will have to be very strong to beat us."

From the very first minute, his team had the courage to play football "the way we want to": with high pressing and great aggression. "I'm proud of the boys. I think we've earned our place in the top six," said Magnin.

There were "moist eyes" in the dressing room in view of Lausanne-Sport's "incredible season", which offers another highlight next Sunday with the Cup semi-final in Basel. "The players have had to overcome many setbacks this year. You have to take your hat off," Magnin noted.

Gallows humor at FCZ, optimism in St.Gallen

Five goals against St.Gallen and twelve goals against FC Zurich, both of whom are level on points with Lausanne-Sport going into the relegation round, made the difference. However, neither Zurich nor St.Gallen wanted to pin the disappointing end to the season on the final qualifying round. FCZ president Ancillo Canepa said after the 2-1 defeat at YB that they had conceded points too often in recent weeks. "We must now draw the right conclusions. At least we won't be relegated."

In St.Gallen, Canepa's counterpart Matthias Hüppi was pleased that his team "did their homework" against Sion. "But we clearly missed our goals for the season in the cup and in the championship." Hüppi identified the reasons for this as a lack of stability in recent months. "We had too many fluctuations. That needs to be analyzed." But the St. Gallen president is not overly concerned. He has full confidence in the coaching staff led by coach Enrico Maassen. And he recalled that Basel and Lucerne were not harmed by last year's relegation round.

The highlights of the 33rd round