From: Omar Bergomi, in redazione
Lugano failed to achieve their sixth success in a row. Despite a clear dominance, at Letzigrund the Bianconeri were held to a 1-1 draw by Grasshopper and therefore just one point away from league leaders Thun, temporarily taking themselves to -6. The Sottocenerini will try to redeem themselves in Winterthur in a week’s time, where the conditions of the various injured players will have to be verified more than the game.
With the already known absences of Marques, Alioski and Mai, joined at the end by Papadopoulos due to an adductor problem, Croci-Torti was forced to revolutionize the defense by playing a three-man with Kelvin between Delcroix and Zanotti. The first chance for the Ticino team came in the 7th minute with a shot by Behrens deflected onto the post and then into a corner by Hammel, which was then followed by a dangerous header by Delcroix. However, the Haitian had to leave the field due to a problem a little later, further complicating things for the Juventus rearguard, with Belhadj inserted in his place and Grgic as an improvised defender. Despite this, FCL still kept control of the game, risking very little even if in the offensive phase they appeared less lucid than solid.
In the second half the Bianconeri entered with more determination and after a goal disallowed by Behrens and a couple of very dangerous chances, they finally managed to pierce Hammel with merit in the 62nd minute thanks to Steffen, facilitated by a touch from Diaby, with the Juventus captain who then wanted to dedicate the goal to his teammate Cassano. Immediately afterwards Mahou had the chance to double the lead, but shot high one-on-one with the goalkeeper. After the round of substitutions, the Grasshoppers showed up with a free kick from Asp Jensen saved by Saipi which, however, served as a prelude to Krasniqi’s equalizer who, out of nowhere, rebalanced the contest. In the final, Belhadj was also sent off for an accidental tackle on Mayer which however never changed things.
