With a new generally controlled performance, Brest took three important points against Sparta Prague (2-1), Wednesday, for the fourth day of the Champions League, and is close to qualifying for the play-offs to reach the round of 16. final at least.
With 10 points in four matches, halfway through the league phase, Brest is in 4th place out of 32 C1 teams, trailing only Liverpool, Sporting Portugal and Monaco.
And again, without the reduction in the score in added time by Victor Olatundji (1-2, 90+1), the Finistériens would even be 2nd.
Faced with Sparta Prague weakened by three major absences and in clear loss of momentum in recent weeks, Brest approached a European meeting for the first time as favorite.
The Bretons were able to take on this status and do what was necessary without much fanfare but without frills.
The “Victory or Death” tifo framing a grimacing Spartan warrior’s head, deployed by the Prague kop, clearly expressed the extent to which the Czechs had their backs to the wall in the competition before this match, but it really did not intimidate the Finisterians .
Fernandes, the right pick
Perhaps to introduce a little novelty into a system now undoubtedly well observed by his opponents — as shown by the very tight marking on Pierre Lees-Melou, including a butcher’s tackle from Matej Rynes which would have deserved more than a yellow in the 69th -, Eric Roy had slightly modified the animation of his 4-3-3.
Leaving Romain del Castillo on the bench, he placed Mama Baldé on the right and Kamory Doumbia on the left of the attack line, the latter often playing with a very interior positioning.
In itself, we cannot say that it was a great success, Mama Baldé often lacking technical accuracy and Doumbia not always making the right choices.
We think in particular of this huge opportunity in the 35th minute when, on a bright opening from Kenny Lala, he missed his right-footed shot six meters from the goal while the left seemed ideal.
The establishment of Edimilson Fernandes in the midfield, to spare Hugo Magnetti, was, however, a great success.
No pressure against Barça
Imperial in the middle of the field for an hour cutting off countless opposing passes, the Swiss international improved his performance with a superb opening goal, a volley at the entrance to the area, after a weakly pushed back corner by the defense of the garnets (0-1, 37th).
We also believed for a long time that the Ty-Zefs were going to have to be satisfied with this narrow victory as their lack of realism was the downside of this match.
At the very start of the second act, a shot from the inside of the right by Lees-Melou missed the target by a hair (47th), and Camara missed two huge chances, one on a magnificent deflection from Ajorque in “Madjer”, where he also made the wrong foot while trying to finish from the right (65th), then, ten minutes later, by slipping on a putback, still from Ajorque, perhaps too generous on this action.
But the deliverance ended up coming on an umpteenth paying pressing which allowed Ajorque to look for Doumbia facing the empty goal in the axis, but it was a Prague defender who finally pushed the ball deep (0-2 , 80th), for a decisive “csc”.
While the next European match will take them to Barcelona, Brest will be able – and we must savor every word of this sentence – to approach this clash almost without pressure.
