He scored the decisive goal: Alan Virginius. Bild: keystone
YB pulls off a surprise and will play in the Champions League for the fourth time starting in September. In the playoff against Galatasaray, the Bernese team wins 1-0 in Istanbul after a 3-2 win in the first leg.
Mauro Icardi’s blocked shot is followed by a quick counterattack from Bern. Cedric Itten launches Alan Virginius, who runs away from his opponent and scores the 1-0 in the 87th minute. It is the deciding factor in this playoff duel, in which Galatasaray had been considered the favorite beforehand, but could never live up to its reputation.
On Tuesday evening, Galatasaray was expected to make an attack. After all, the team, whose players are also known as “the lions”, had to make up a deficit after their disappointing performance in Bern. In fact, the Turkish champions only generated a light breeze in their home stadium for a long time. It was only in the second half, when the playoff defeat was getting closer and closer, that the Turks had a few opportunities, but they were not very compelling.
There was great jubilation among the Bernese after the decisive goal.Bild: keystone
The guests from Bern celebrated their second entry into the European premier class in a row. A well-deserved success for the Swiss champions, who could have even taken the lead earlier due to the chances they had.
Ganvoula hits the post twice
Silvère Ganvoula failed to score twice on the edge of the goal. In the 31st and 61st minutes he headed the ball but saw it bounce off the post. The first time, Ebrima Colley seemed to score on the rebound, but he started offside. The goal was rightly disallowed.
And Galatasaray? Despite a squad value of around 210 million euros (YB around 63 million euros) and the support of the hot-blooded fans, the home team hardly managed anything. In the first half, YB goalkeeper Marvin Keller only had to intervene once.
The nominal substitute goalkeeper, who had been substituted after half an hour in the first leg, was even between the posts from the start in the second leg. David von Ballmoos had not recovered in time. But Keller was unimpressed by the crowd and presented himself as a composed support.
This also applied to his teammates, who increasingly drove the opponents and their supporters to despair. This was also expressed in the final phase with unfair gestures such as throwing cups at players and a mob formation on the sidelines. The Bernese, on the other hand, did not let themselves be disturbed and celebrated an unexpected success.
Unbeaten streak
The Bernese team remained unbeaten in the Champions League playoffs for the tenth time in a row. An impressive record that testifies to the consistency of the club from the federal capital, which dominates Swiss football and has only failed to win the championship once since 2018.
In the final phase, there was a scuffle between players from Galatasaray and YB.Bild: keystone
However, the success against Galatasaray is particularly impressive. The Turks won the championship last season with a record number of points and were clearly the strongest of the possible playoff opponents. YB, on the other hand, had a difficult start to the new season and are still winless at the bottom of the table after five rounds. It was therefore not to be expected that they would advance against Galatasaray, which is full of strong individual players.
For YB, it is the fourth participation in the group or new league phase of the Champions League after 2018, 2021 and 2023. The eight opponents that the Young Boys will face in the new format in the premier class will be drawn on Thursday evening (6 p.m.) in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Galatasaray – Young Boys 0:1 (0:0)
SR Eskas (NOR).
Tor: 87. Virginius (Itten) 0:1.
Galatasaray: Muslera; Yilmaz, Ayhan, Nelsson, Köhn (46. Jelert); Torreira, Sara (63. Demirbay); Ziyech (46. Kutlu), Batshuayi (76. Mertens), Aktürkoglu (89. Güvenc); Icardi.
Young Boys: Keller; Blum, Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam (69. Persson); Niasse, Lauper; Monteiro (69. Virginius), Ugrinic (80. Males), Colley (80. Chaiwa); Gauntlet (77. Itten).
Remarks: YB without Conte, Conté, Elia, Janko, Lakomy and Pfeiffer (all injured). 31. Header hits the post Ganvoula. 61. Header hits the post Ganvoula. 88. Red card Muslera.
Warnings: 33. Ganvoula, 38. Nelsson, 75. Icardi, 84. Ayhan, 84. Males, 96. Mertens. (nih/sda)
