Pilsen’s offensive plans were ruined in Athens by the early expulsion of Václav Jemelka. In the important European League match against Panathinaikos, Viktoria defended itself from weakening for more than an hour. She fought bravely and eventually took home a point for a 0-0 draw. The third identical result of the West Bohemian team means that Pilsen remains undefeated on the international stage and is close to advancing to the spring playoffs.
Václav Jemelka is one of the most experienced players of the team, who is relied on in the vast majority of matches. For example, a year ago in Frankfurt, in a crazy finish, he scored a goal for the final 3:3. However, he will not remember Thursday evening in Athens in a very good light.
Jemelka received his first yellow in the 12th minute – he rolled up the moving Teté on the halfway line, the Portuguese referee António Nobre issued a clear first yellow. Another slide came out perfectly for the Pilsen stopper a moment later – he stopped the escaping David Calabria at the last moment with a great defensive intervention.
The Pilsen stopper finally finished the game in the 32nd minute. The foul arose again from a fight with Tét. Jemelka finished off his opponent at the line, it was an illegal tackle at full speed. The referee drew a second yellow and Viktoria went to ten after half an hour. It was an unfortunate intervention, maybe a slightly strict card, but the referee will defend it without any problems.
“He received the first card in the eleventh minute, the red was already hanging in the balance. The second intervention was at the line, where it doesn’t solve anything. It would certainly have been better if he had stepped up to the situation,” former Pilsen captain and experienced stopper Roman Hubník assessed the situation in the Nova Sport studio. “The first tackle was quite rough, he snapped his legs over his ankle. The second fight was a bit unlucky. Tete showed great speed, he hit it well. It complicated Viktorka’s plans,” added the second guest, former Pilsen midfielder Martin Fillo, in the studio.
Martin Hyský reacted at the end of the first half – Svetozar Markovič went to the stopper, Cheick Souaré also ran into the game with him. Prince Adu and Denis Višinský took the forced changes, Viktoria sacrificed two offensive players. In the second half, another offensive player Tomáš Ladra went down, and the more defensive-oriented Karel Spáčil stepped in instead. In the end, the substitute Vydra helped a lot with his work at the tip.
Plzeň logically had to do much more against a strong opponent, led by the famous coach Rafael Benítez. Florian Wiegele, who, despite the 0:3 loss in Slovácko, was once again given priority over Martin Jedlička, had four rather difficult saves in the first half alone, and more were added to him due to strong home pressure.
The coaches could throw the game plans in the trash during a long period of weakness. The guests mostly ran without the ball in their own half, fighting to the limit. But they handled the difficult situation well. Plzeň defended carefully when there was an opportunity, tried to break into breaks and relieve the overburdened defense at least a little.
There was a lot of pressure on Sampson Dweh, who finished the final passage of the match with a yellow. But he and others managed a difficult duel and Viktoria played the third 0:0 draw in a row. After six rounds, it remains undefeated in the League phase of the Europa League after autumn – it has won two and drawn four. With two rounds to go (he plays at home with Porto in January and ends in Basel), he has a solid foothold in the spring elimination battles.
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