fc basel 1893 and newcomers fc oţelul galaţi may be outsiders in group c, but coaches thorsten frink and dorinel munteanu struck upbeat notes ahead of wednesday's opener.
the coaches of fc basel 1893 and uefa champions league debutants fc oţelul galaţi are looking to causing a few upsets as they open their group c bids on wednesday in switzerland, well aware most pundits are backing manchester united fc and sl benfica to top the section.
basel coach thorsten frink
"we are glad that the champions league is finally getting under way. when you hear the music before the game it gets you motivated". we are facing a very compact team in galaţi, who are very defensive. they don't have a great star, but their strength is their togetherness; they can cause upsets. we need a lot of patience to crack them because they will play defensively, but they also have dangerous players like john ibeh, who can spread play and keep possession, and liviu antal, who always likes to push forward. we are taking them very seriously.
our aim is to be in europe beyond the winter. we are outsiders, like in recent years when we caused upsets, but we want to win our first game and try and knock galaţi out of the running. benfica and manchester united are favourites in this group, but on a good day we can beat them; we want to take our chance as outsiders. we have confidence, experience, motivated youngsters and this all gives us hope.
oţelul coach dorinel munteanu
we are delighted to be here, delighted to have reached the group stage of the champions league, which is the result of a lot of work. basel are not unknown. last year they were in the champions league. we feel we have a chance. maybe we're not favourites in the group, but will try our best.
"we lost 4-0 at the weekend and basel won 4-0, but does that mean we should not even play? of course not". we have to play and we feel we have a chance. we have the lowest chance of getting through the group, but as i have said, we will focus on every game and try to get something; then we will see where we end up. i know swiss football and i know basel. they have experienced players, but i don't know how they will play.
goals from fabian frei and alexander frei, a late penalty, earned basel three group c points as both teams finished with ten men.
alexander frei's late penalty earned fc basel 1893 a 2-1 group c victory against fc oţelul galaţi as both teams finished with ten men at st. jakob-park.
having deservedly led through fabian frei's powerful 39th-minute header, basel were pegged back by marius pena before the real drama arrived in the closing stages. alexander frei converted a penalty after adrian sălăgeanu saw red for felling marco streller, and there was still time for benjamin huggel to be dismissed. both will be suspended in a fortnight when the swiss side travel to manchester united fc and sl benfica visit bucharest.
while basel saw most of the ball it was the visitors, making their debut at this level, who created the clearer chances in a confident opening spell. yann sommer was called into action as early as the second minute after his defence failed to clear but gabriel giurgiu shot weakly into the basel goalkeeper's arms. four minutes later the lively liviu antal broke with pace on the right and crossed to giurgiu but sommer had his volley covered.
with oţelul relying on counterattacks, basel patiently sought an opening. they nearly found one in the 27th minute when milan perendija failed to deal with fabian frei's long pass. the ball rolled into the path of alexander frei, whose thumping drive was fabulously saved by branko grahovac.
basel were rewarded for their patience before half-time when markus steinhöfer's quick throw caught the visiting defence napping. streller took out sălăgeanu with a clever cut-back before sending in a perfectly-weighted cross that fabian frei headed in after powering into the box.
oţelul responded impressively, and scored their first uefa champions league goal 58 minutes in. it was no surprise to see antal involved, the no8 firing in a shot that sommer spilled, leaving pena to do the rest by chipping in cleverly.
granit xhaka and alexander frei failed to take opportunities to restore the lead, and basel were running out of time when sălăgeanu brought down streller as he shaped to shoot just inside the box in the 82nd minute. frei converted his spot kick confidently, despite grahovac going the right way, although there was to be some disappointment for coach thorsten fink as huggel's raised foot earned him a second yellow with three minutes left.
yardımcı hakemler: graham chambers (sco), martin cryans (sco)
4. hakem: iain robertson brines (sco)
çizgi hakemleri: alan muir (sco), stephen o'reilly (sco)
basel: yann sommer (gk), park joo-ho, aleksandar dragović, benjamin huggel, marco streller (c), alexander frei (dk. 90+1 radoslav kováč), david abraham, fabian frei (dk. 90+4 kwan-ryong pak), cabral, markus steinhöfer, granit xhaka (dk. 78 jacques zoua)
yedekler: massimo colomba (gk), arlind ajeti, taulant xhaka, roman buess
teknik direktör: thorsten fink (ger)
oţelul galaţi: branko grahovac (gk), cornel râpă, ioan filip (dk. 86 gabriel viglianti), liviu antal, silviu ilie (dk. 89 sorin frunză), john ibeh, sergiu costin (c), adrian sălăgeanu, marius pena (dk. 71 gabriel paraschiv), gabriel giurgiu, milan perendija
1. fc basel 1893...1...1...0...0...2...1...1...3 2. manchester united fc...1...0...1...0...1...1...0...1 3. sl benfica...1...0...1...0...1...1...0...1 4. fc oţelul galaţi...1...0...0...1...1...2...-1...0
