The Copenhagen midfielder managed to get himself sent off at the very end during the match against the Turkish opponent, but in retrospect it doesn’t have to bother him, as his team still managed to narrowly triumph. “The next match will probably be a stoppage for me, but otherwise I’m excited,” Lerager did not hide his emotions.
So yes too. After all, on paper, Copenhagen paid for the scrapper of Group A, who would probably have a hard time getting into the Europa League from third place, if all the football deities stand by him. She faced Bayern Munich, who confidently secured first place with sixteen points, the English giant Manchester United and the star-studded Galatasaray.
But the Danish manchaft broke the experts’ forecasts to pieces. Although after three rounds he had only scored a single point for a draw with Istanbul’s total, and thoughts of progression seemed naively optimistic. But then Copenhagen took over, being the only one to steal points from Bayern (0:0) and also dealt with both remaining opponents. All in all – six games, two wins, two draws and a well-deserved place in the top sixteen.
Group A final table
TeamMatchesScoresPoints1.Bayern612:6162.Copenhagen68:883.Galatasaray610:1354.Manchester United612:154
“In such a group, no one expected us to advance. I am incredibly proud of the team,” midfielder Rasmus Falk rejoiced. “We gave an incredible performance. It would be an exceptional achievement for any Danish club,” he added.
Copenhagen will look to the Champions League round of 16 after thirteen long years. In the 2010/11 season, they also finished second in the group, surpassed only by Barcelona. She then left behind Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, teams that are considerably less famous than this year. So Copenhagen is writing a story that will not be easily forgotten in Denmark.
At the same time, Sparta Prague could, and perhaps should, have ended the fairy tale in the mentioned preliminary round of the ongoing LM season. It would be enough to protect the lead in extra time at least once in the revenge against Letná, or better handle the penalty shootout…
