Last Saturday, at Beerschot, when he was questioned about the repercussions of Hautekiet's suspension, he was able to smile at the situation by saying: “Let me breathe after this match, I'm already going to sleep badly enough as it is.” Friday noon, at a press conference, he said: “You lament or you move forward. It's a shame, and we would like to avoid these problems, but we will find solutions. I am sure that we will be able to field a stable team.”
In Standard, a goal is worth two points
Private of Nathan Ngoy (since mid-September); of David Bates (since mid-October) and Alexandro Calut (since the beginning of December), all three for a few more weeks, Leko also had to juggle, in the past, with the suspensions of Henry Lawrence (against Beerschot) , Bosko Sutalo (against OH Louvain) and a few occasional glitches (forfeits of Fossey and Hautekiet).
Add to that the injury before the start of the championship of Boli Bolingoli, who is barely coming back; the gradual return of Souleyman Doumbia, featured three times but not yet a starter; the downgrading of Lucas Noubi, on whom Leko no longer counts, and you have a picture that would scare any coach. “Fortunately, everyone is aware of the efforts to be made, and the players help out.”rejoices the Standard coach, who constantly emphasizes the mentality to get through it.
Spirit of revenge against a team in difficulty on the road
Sunday, against Ghent, in addition to the mentality, there will be a spirit of revenge in the Liège ranks. The memory of the slap received at the Planet Group Arena on November 10 (5-0) is still in everyone's minds. “It was our worst game of the season.”still squeak Andi Zeqiri and his coach, who will not focus his briefing around this theme of revenge however.
He will first want to concentrate on his problems, and the way to resolve them, to take additional points, at the heart of a month of December which has not always been a prosperous month for the Rouches, in the past recent. A success against Ghent, to end the year in style at Sclessin, would bring Standard back up to par with the Buffalos, which seemed unreal at the start of the season.
But before thinking about winning, against a team which has not won a away match since mid-September and the equivalent of ten matches, the Liégeois will have to think about defending well. With whom ? This is the equation with multiple unknowns.
