2 games, 2 wins – a Swiss in the middle: Brest amazes in the premier class – Sport

Wednesday 02nd October 2024 07:11 AM

Stade Brest was the surprise team in Ligue 1 last season. Now things are also going on in the Champions League.

At most, Borussia Dortmund’s 7-1 win against Celtic Glasgow spoiled Stade Brest’s evening a bit: Due to their better goal difference (10-1), it is the Germans who are currently leading the Champions League table. The Bretons follow right behind in second place. After 2 games, they surprisingly have the maximum number of points – and this is their first participation in the “premier class” at all.

“Victims” of the good start are two Austrian teams: Brest followed up the 2-1 win against Sturm Graz at the start with a 4-0 win on foreign soil in Salzburg on Tuesday. The fact that the opponent actually had significantly more of the game became a side note due to the clear result.

Apart from long-time guests PSG, the last time a French team (Olympique Lyon) managed to win by 4 goals or more in the Champions League was in 2011.

Things aren’t going well in the championship

The soaring is all the more astonishing because Brest failed to start the new season. In Ligue 1 they also have 6 points – but from 6 games, which results in 13th place in the table. They lost 3-0 to newly promoted Auxerre at the weekend.

Last season, the surprise team, which was otherwise considered a relegation candidate, surprisingly secured a direct ticket to the league phase of the Champions League by finishing third.

Fernandes in the middle instead of just there

Edimilson Fernandes wasn’t there at the time. The Swiss only joined the team on loan from Mainz for the current season. In both CL games he was in the starting eleven as a sixth man. However, he conceded the only goal so far against Sturm Graz when he misdirected the ball into his own goal.

Because their own stadium is not suitable for the Champions League, Brest plays its home games in exile in Guingamp. The next opponents there will have slightly better names: Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven and, finally, defending champions Real Madrid will be paying their respects in Brittany.