After facing less successful opponents, Brest, the big sensation of the Champions League this season, sets off to board a flagship, Barcelona. It will be this Tuesday, November 26, 2024, in Catalonia during the 5th day of the most prestigious European Cup, with everything to win for Brest.
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“It’s a small team that is planned for us, we will try not to have too many superiority complexes to achieve a good result there”joked coach Eric Roy when mentioning this meeting with the legendary Catalan club, five-time winner of the event.
In the standings, with 10 points and fourth place in the league phase of the competition, at the start of the 5th day, the Bretons are ahead of the Blaugranas, in their wake in sixth place, a length.
Almost assured of competing at least in the play-offs for the round of 16 – the Opta statistician only gives them a 0.7% risk of missing them – they are in any case approaching the second half of the first round without pressure.
Financially too, the essentials are more than assured for Stade Brestois since the victory in Prague (2-1) three weeks ago if we add the seven million euros which will enter the club’s coffers thanks to on points scored, in addition to the automatic 18.6 million cashed for his participation, as well as the ranking bonus and a possible bonus in the event of qualification.
Also read: Football, Stade Brestois beaten by Monaco, a “nightmare” evening
“They are doing a very good job. It is no coincidence that they have not lost a match and if we disrespect them, we will pay dearly. They are well organized, they quickly project themselves on the counter and they are physically strong (…) They have demonstrated so far that they can be competitive in the Champions League.”declared Inigo Martinez, the Spanish central defender at a press conference.
German coach Hansi Flick also praised a Breton team “on a very good dynamic” and who “deserves his ten points in the ranking”believing that his players must above all “have control of the ball” to regain victory after two missteps in La Liga (defeat against Real Sociedad, draw in Vigo).
The Catalans will have to “correct errors” which cost them points during their last outings, insisting on the “concentration” and the “solidarity”.
Sixth in the standings, one point behind Brest, fourth and undefeated having faced opponents less capable than the five-time European champion, Barça will once again be deprived of their young prodigy Lamine Yamal, injured in the right ankle, but should record the returns to the group of Spanish defenders Alejandro Baldé and Eric Garcia.
However, the Ty Zefs do not intend to finish the first phase in freewheeling mode. “What is certain is that in the next matches, we will still try to score points to continue to advance in this competition”had promised Eric Roy in the Czech Republic. From there to going to Barcelona to win? “That’s another story.”he added.
After Catalonia, the Bretons will face PSV Eindhoven in Guingamp, where they have taken up residence for the competition, UEFA standards require, before going to challenge Shakhtar Donetsk on neutral ground in Germany then hosting Real Madrid for a grand final.
In the Olympic stadium of Montjuic, where the Catalan club hosts during the modernization work of the legendary Camp Nou, Roy and his players seem at the foot of an Everest.
Surprised by Monaco (2-1) on the first day, the Catalans have since been ruthless in crushing Young Boys from Bern (5-0), Bayern Munich (4-1) and Red Star Belgrade (5 -2).
The Bretons will, however, have reason to believe in the feat. Although leader of La Liga, Barça has just made two missteps in its national championship, with a defeat against Real Sociedad and a draw in Vigo.
With his offensive and attractive football, the tactical approach of Hansi Flick, the new coach of the Catalans from Bayern Munich, has often been rewarded – notably by prestigious victories against Bayern and Real. But it remains extremely risky and requires extreme concentration on the part of its defenders.
The end of the match in Vigo, where the Catalans lost the plot by conceding two goals in two minutes due to individual errors – including a huge blunder by Jules Koundé -, showed the Brestois that they will have to play hard until at the end and try to push the opposing block into a mistake.
To do this, they will have to ignore their much less stellar situation in Ligue 1, where Brest remains on three defeats and is only three steps ahead of the red zone.
But since the start of the season, Europe has learned, beyond Ligue 1, that Brest is not impossible.
