Young Boys definitely still can’t do it in the Champions League. The Bernese conceded a fifth defeat in the competition on Tuesday against Atalanta Bergamo, an easy 6-1 winner.
Like three years ago during the last clash between YB and the Lombard club, there were many goals at Wankdorf. But unlike the previous duel – an epic final draw (3-3) – one team was far superior to the other this time: Atalanta, winner of the Europa League in May and current second in the Italian Serie A .
Gian Piero Gasperini’s team, still undefeated in C1 this season (3 wins now, and 2 draws), benefited from the defensive generosity of a YB which once again measured the gap separating it from the best teams on the continent.
A defense at bay
The high pressing and offensive will of the players of interim coach Joël Magnin were shattered by the technical accuracy of the Bergamasques, who took the Bernese back line by surprise in the 9th minute of play. Italian international Mateo Retegui , perfectly launched by Charles de Ketelaere, opened his account on the European scene, he who sits at the top of the ranking of scorers in Serie A.
The quick equalization of the Swiss champions from a corner (11th, Silvère Ganvoula) was only a mirage, because at half-time, the score of 4-1 clearly indicated that the mass had been said. David von Ballmoos, guilty of the 2-1 signed by Ketelaere (28th), and his rearguard, completely taken by surprise by the Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac – at the start and conclusion of a magnificent movement on the 3-1 (32nd) – condemned Young Boys to a feat.
Poor results
A feat made illusory shortly before tea by Retegui, who scored a double in front of a well-borrowed Sandro Lauper (39th). And definitively buried after the second success of the Belgian from Ketelaere, free to send a strike between four defenders (56th). The 6-1, signed by Lazar Samardzic in stoppage time, nailed the coffin of the Bernese.
After five Champions League matches, the situation is glaring: five defeats, two goals scored and 17 conceded. Only Slovan Bratislava has such a poor record. With three final matches scheduled against Stuttgart, Celtic Glasgow and Red Star Belgrade, YB’s prospects of finally scoring points in the competition should improve somewhat.
/ATS
