Champions League
LIVE from 9pm: Sturm face FC Brugge
Second matchday of the new Champions League: Austrian champions SK Sturm Graz face FC Brugge from Belgium at home in Klagenfurt. We will be reporting live (see below) from this match!
Here is the LIVETICKER:
Double winners Sturm Graz are looking forward to their first home game in the Champions League for more than 23 years with personnel worries, but also plenty of anticipation. Sturm fans have had to wait exactly 8610 days for the return of the premier class to Austria, and today the champions welcome FC Brugge to the Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt. The Styrians are desperate to score against the Belgian champions after their opening 2-1 defeat at Stade Brest.
It won't be easy, especially as several key players from the championship season are missing. Chief defender Gregory Wüthrich suffered a capsular ligament injury in France and will be absent for some time. Captain Jon Gorenc Stankovic had to end the dress rehearsal on Saturday at Blau-Weiß Linz (2:1) prematurely with a comminuted fracture of the radial head, the defensive stabilizer in Graz's midfield will be out for up to ten weeks. In addition, defensive all-rounder Dimitri Lavalée is suspended following his yellow card against Brest, meaning that Niklas Geyrhofer will probably move into the starting eleven.
"We have extremely good memories of Klagenfurt!"
This makes it all the more important for Christian Ilzer to have the support of the fans at the alternative venue, similar to the successful final duels in the ÖFB Cup against Rapid in the past two seasons. "We have extremely fond memories of Klagenfurt and have won two titles there. We will create an atmosphere worthy of a Champions League stage," announced Sturm's coach. The supporters will have to travel to Carinthia due to the lack of a suitable stadium in Liebenau, but the aim is to celebrate memorable European Cup nights there just as they did a quarter of a century ago under Ivica Osim.
More than 24,200 tickets (out of a possible 28,000) have already been sold in advance. Ilzer now sees it as his team's duty. "We have to do our bit to make it a great evening," emphasized the coach. Sturm have the potential to become "a very good team" again this year. "We are on a path and this process is accompanied by good and less good phases. The important thing is that we don't lose focus."
"If we get our game on the pitch, then ..."
With the win in Linz, Sturm climbed back to the top of the Bundesliga table after eight rounds, but runners-up Salzburg are only three points behind with two fewer games played. In terms of play, however, the Ilzer squad is still searching for its championship form this season. "On the whole, it was a step forward," said Jusuf Gazibegovic confidently in Upper Austria. With Bruges, a different opponent than Brest awaits, with a different style of play. "If we get our game on the pitch, then we can take something with us, but of course we need a good day," emphasized the full-back.
The Belgians went down 3-0 in their Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund after conceding three goals in the closing stages. Coach Nicky Hayen's side are fourth in the league after nine rounds, and Brugge were held to a 1-1 draw at Charleroi on Saturday, partly due to a long spell outnumbered. Despite a winless streak of three competitive games, Bruges, champions in the previous season by one point, are slightly favored.
Belgians had plenty of budget for signings this year
The squad includes several internationally experienced players such as the Dane Andreas Skov Olsen, the Nigerian Raphael Onyedika and the Swedish team striker Gustaf Nilsson, who moved to Bruges in the summer. The Belgians had plenty of budget available for signings after striker Igor Thiago (33 million euros/to Brentford) and winger Antonio Nusa (21 million euros/to Leipzig) were sold for a total of 54 million euros. Just over half of the proceeds were reinvested.
In contrast to Stade Brest, Bruges are less focused on physical toughness, with the Belgians around captain Hans Vanaken aiming to set a playful tone. Bruges is a regular in the Champions League, and the blue-and-blacks have always been represented in the top flight since 2016/17, with two exceptions. In the previous season, they were only knocked out of the Conference League in the semi-finals. In the past, an Austrian became a legend in Bruges: Under coach Ernst Happel, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup (1976) and the European Champions Cup (1978), but Liverpool triumphed both times.
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