Czech League football 2016 and on (original) (raw)
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HT 1-1
Stuttgart scored the early goal, but Kairinen answered with a goal of the week contender freekick. This match could be 3-1 to either side (which I guess means it could also be 3-3), but Stuttgart have been on balance more in control of non-goalscoring opportunity moments. 2.
FT Stuttgart 1 - 1 Sparta
Missed most of the 2nd half, but in general seems quieter and like Sparta went into a bunker after about 70 minutes. 4 pts after 2 matches isn't bad, and this was one of their point chance matches, but they're yet to really play the heavy hitters in their draw (Manchester City away is next...). 3.
With this new league set up it's hard for me to even guess what the magic number for a top 8, 16, 24 finish would be. The biggest match for Sparta to have a chance at advancing is Brest at home, that's the other match where 3 points seems possible outside of pulling a significant upset. 4.
I had the game on in the background, but paid more attention in the first half. I saw the crossbar and post hit by Sparta, but it does seem the balance heavily tilted towards Stuttgart in the second half.
Nevertheless, a valuable point and another coefficient collection. I’m mostly thrown off by the altered schedule as a result of this new format more than anything. Regardless, I’ll likely only be able to watch a handful of games live this season. 5.
Slavia's starting lineup showed they weren't especially serious about this match, I guess because the derby is next weekend. Still if they put in Provod, Zafeiris and Jurasek for the 2nd half they should be able to salvage a point against a fairly underwhelming Ajax. 6.
FT 1-1
Slavia made the changes about 15 minutes too late and despite controlling the last 30 and even having a man advantage for a chunk of it they only managed an equalizer. Not a crushing loss of points, but definitely a one where they could have had a win.
I almost hope Sparta beat them anyway next weekend since they swapped out so many players chasing champions league... in early October. 7.
Not as good of week overall, although only Mlada Boleslav lost. Plzen's match was a must win if they want to advance in my opinion so a home draw was a let down after Frankfurt.
I already mentioned my thoughts about the Slavia match, but at the end of the day it matters more for final placing than their overall chances to advance. 8.
Top 15 in the world seems very flattering to me, but I also feel my mind hasn’t really registered the level of improvement we’ve made relative to other leagues.
My way of thinking for a long time was simply that any league outside of our own was automatically better, but that’s obviously changed in recent years with our club success in Europe.
When I see those rankings, I still inherently think that the Turkish, Swiss, Danish, and pre-war Ukrainian / Russian leagues are all better. I think top 15 in Europe is more appropriate even if our current coefficient suggests otherwise. 9.
Sparta went behind very early in what is their biggest "damage limitation" match of the round at Manchester City. Since then they've been outplayed of course, but not over run, even forced a good save. 10.
Sparta failed to really limit the damage 2nd half conceding 4 goals, but that was a match they were always going to lose so no real change in their overall prospects. 11.
65 Minutes in and Plzen are completely in control against PAOK in Greece, didn't expect this, but they have a 2 goal lead. 12.
Maybe a little bit early to definitively call it, but it’s hard to see Slavia surrendering their ten point lead over Sparta. It was never realistic for them to qualify for the Champions League and win a third successive title in my opinion. Always felt like one or the other.
Even if the positions were reversed and Sparta had the ten point advantage, I’d give Slavia a much stronger chance of staging a comeback. With their superior roster depth and defensive record, I highly doubt they’ll choke away such a lead.
With the latest reports surfacing of internal conflicts at Sparta, it’s especially hard to see them maintaining any semblance of unity down the stretch (unless they make addition by subtraction during the winter window).
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