Tweet!
The whistle blew, and the match officially began! Viktoria Plzen kicked off.
"Červenomodří!" (Red-blues!)
Viktoria Plzen fans shouted three times, instantly heating up the atmosphere and dispelling the cold night.
Bastia completely abandoned their pride, adopting a defensive stance for the away match. Right from kickoff, the team immediately retreated.
For this match, Hadzibegic gave the team a 4-4-2 formation, with Lukaku and Mané up front relying on pace for counterattacks. Everyone else dropped back to defend.
In the opening minutes, both sides created few opportunities.
The broadcast camera turned to Julien on the Bastia bench. The TF1 commentator said helplessly, "Bastia won a hard-fought victory against Paris at home, but the cost was total exhaustion and Julien's injury withdrawal, directly affecting this Europa League match. We don't know if Julien will have a chance to come. Bastia has yet to specifically announce Julien's injury status."
Sigh!
At the Sunset Coffee Bar, Martin and others let out disappointed sighs.
"De Bruyne's pass was below standard, this shouldn't have happened."
"Can't help it, the previous match took too much out of them. I think our multi-front campaign is still problematic—we need to make choices. The squad is too thin."
Listening to his fellow fans' discussion, Martin added, "From this match's starting lineup without Choplin and Cahuzac, you can tell how much the team gave in the battle against Paris. Choplin at least made the squad, but Cahuzac didn't even make the matchday roster."
Others nodded, their faces were serious. They felt sorry for the Bastia players' poor form after kickoff. But they also had to recognize that 72 hours ago, these players had given 120% effort to win that match.
"stupidu idiotu!!!" (stupid idiot!)
Suddenly, everyone exclaimed again. In the broadcast, Lukaku had fallen. But he wasn't brought down by a defender—while dribbling, he somehow lost his footing when pushing off, slipped and lost an excellent counterattacking opportunity.
On the pitch, Lukaku wiped the rain and sweat from his face and quickly got up, giving Kanté, who had delivered the through ball, a thumbs up—this was his third such gesture today.
Viktoria Plzen maintained possession, combining play through the middle and wings, focusing on central penetration.
In Vrba's early period coaching Viktoria Plzen, he mainly used a 4-2-3-1 formation, emphasizing quick counterattacks and wing breakthroughs, relying heavily on veteran Horvath's long passing.
Since the Champions League campaign, he had gradually shifted toward possession-based play, increasing short passing penetration and midfield creativity. The formation flexibly switched between 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1, representing the technical style of Czech football.
For this match, he deployed 4-1-4-1, with veteran Horvath playing deep to conserve energy while using his passing to organize attacks.
In the front, Darida and Horava continuously attacked Bastia's flanks. Center-forward Duris, despite being only 183cm tall, had flexible movement and frequently switched positions with attacking players, dropping deep to link play.
Bastia defended with difficulty. Hadzibegic looked worried—he had underestimated this match's difficulty.
The Doosan Arena wasn't even a full-sized stadium, smaller than the standard football pitch. This didn't favor Bastia's two forwards' counterattacking pace.
Crash!
In the 23rd minute, the Doosan Arena erupted in exclamations, with fans shouting angrily, demanding a "red card."
When Kanté tried to intercept Darida's inward run, his sliding tackle caught the Czech player's shin due to fatigue slowing his reflexes.
The home fans clamored for Kanté to receive a red card, having recognized, Kanté's importance to Bastia's defense. Darida's several inward runs had been disrupted by Kanté.
But they also noticed that Kanté's defensive ability declined rapidly as the match progressed.
The referee didn't issue a card, only gave Viktoria Plzen a free kick.
The TF1 commentator commented, "Kanté's running in the previous match left us with a deep impression—14.6 kilometers total distance was simply amazing. But it also left hidden problems. In this match, Kanté seems unable to keep up the pace."
Viktoria Plzen set up for the free kick. The ball was about four meters outside the penalty area—seemingly far, but on this small pitch, set pieces posed great danger. This was already Viktoria Plzen's fourth set piece in twenty-plus minutes.
On the substitute bench, Julien watched Viktoria Plzen's positioning with some concern.
"They might aim for the far post—it's very dangerous," Clauss suddenly said.
Julien turned to look at him.
Clauss said confidently, "If it were me, I'd definitely target the far post. Darida just signaled Horvath for a reverse run."
Tweet!
The whistle blew.
Thump!
Horvath powerfully struck the ball, sending it in an arc toward the far post!
With Bakoš and Horava providing screens, Darida made a reverse run to the back post, charging toward the ball.
Defending Rothen turned to follow but pulled Darida slightly, lost his footing on the slippery surface, and fell.
Darida controlled the ball with his chest, pushed forward, and fired a volley toward the near post. Novaes dived but it was too late.
Swoosh!
Darida's powerful shot found the net. Viktoria Plzen 1-0 Bastia.
ROAR!
The stadium erupted with Viktoria Plzen fans' cheers as they took the lead, chanting in unison:
Plzeň! Plzeň!
Red and blue fortress strong!
Never kneeling, always fighting,
Battle on the whole night long!
In the heart of Europe blazing,
Our shield of pride forever raising!
Victory! Victory!
Hope never dies!
From 1911 to today—
Plzeň's glory lights the way!
Red and blue! Red and blue!
Forever loyal, forever true!
Julien shook his head. He looked at Clauss and said, "You were right."
Clauss shrugged helplessly. "I wish I had been wrong."
With the team behind, Hadzibegic didn't encourage an all-out attack—he could see the team's fitness problems. His mind raced for solutions, but his primary goal was "hold on, don't concede again."
However, when you want to hold on, it often becomes impossible to do so. Hadzibegic's goal went unfulfilled.
In the 37th minute, Viktoria Plzen's 37-year-old veteran found space outside the penalty area and unleashed a screamer—a world-class strike that found the net!
2-0!
The ecstatic Viktoria Plzen fans sang Horvath's anthem...
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