The slap received at La Gantoise really hurt Standard. The team must question itself at all levels.
Standard have conceded fifteen goals in their last six matches. Compared to three in eight meetings before that. For Philippe Albert, the situation is serious among the Rouches.
“The defensive efficiency on which Ivan Leko usually builds his football is no longer there,” he declares in his column for SudInfo. The former Red Devil could not miss the case of Matthew Epoloonce again made a mistake against the Buffalos.
A context that is anything but obvious
“It’s time to intervene. For his own sake, so as not to be exhausted, it’s time to give Standard’s young goalkeeper a break, because he is clearly going through a crisis of confidence” continues Albert. According to him, Standard will protect their goalkeeper more by putting him back on the bench than by leaving him in goal during this period.
Especially in the face of the shadow ofArnaud Bodart : “He can no longer be ignored, a return of Arnaud would be beneficial for everyone: for the team, for himself, he could regain value with a view to leaving, and for Epolo who needs a break.”
In the north of the country, Frank Boeckx considers that his chance at Standard probably came too soon: “In fact, it should not have happened since he was not impeccable in D1B. At a higher level , that stands out. These errors don’t disappear,” he declared on the set of Extra Time.
What will Ivan Leko and his staff decide when they resume? In the meantime, Matthieu Epolo will have been able to change his mind with the Diablotins, who are preparing to play a play-off against the Czech Republic with a view to the Euro.
