2023-08-23 20:46:29
Last Swiss team to start their European season on Thursday (8:30 p.m.), Lugano have a chance to participate in the group stage of the Europa League. But they must beat the Belgians of the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, in a relocated meeting at the Anderlecht stadium.
In Ticino, we were not so unhappy at the end of last season to have let slip 2nd place in the league in favor of Servette FC. The 3rd place indeed assured the Luganese of being able to compete in the group stage of a European competition, a first since 2019.
At the time, in a Europa League group made up of Malmö, Copenhagen and Dynamo kyiv, the Bianconeri had garnered 3 points thanks to 3 draws. For their first participation in 2017, they won against Hapoel Beer Sheva, Viktoria Plzen and Steua Bucharest, which was not enough to go further.
Reunion with Amoura
Mattia Croci-Torti’s team therefore wants to try to win its third participation in the Europa League. However, the obstacle is considerable in the play-offs with Union Saint-Gilloise, which reached the quarter-finals of the competition last year, stopped by Bayer Leverkusen.
The Luganese will find an old acquaintance in front of them in the person of Mohamed Amoura. The 23-year-old Algerian, who scored 17 goals in 66 matches during his two seasons in Lugano before signing with the Belgians, should not however be aligned in the first leg, for lack of a work permit.
If Lugano, who has to play his second leg “at home” at the Stade de Genève due to works at Cornaredo, were to fail in his mission, his journey through European football would still continue in the group stage of the Conference League. .
ats/btro
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