Keystone
Young Boys have their backs to the wall in the Champions League. Anything other than a win on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen against Shakhtar Donetsk will not get the Swiss champions any further.
Three games, zero goals, zero points. Young Boys have made a veritable false start to their Champions League campaign. Considering their opponents so far and their current form, however, this comes as no surprise. The Swiss champions held their own against Aston Villa (0:3), at least in the early stages, but had no chance against FC Barcelona (0:5) and were unlucky against Inter Milan (0:1).
It was already clear after the draw that matchday 4 and the game against Shakhtar Donetsk would be of great importance. Even if YB coach Joël Magnin puts it into perspective and doesn’t want to hear anything about additional pressure: “YB wants to win every game, including the one against Shakhtar.” But the pressure is there. Should YB leave the pitch as losers again, the first 24 places in the knockout phase will probably be out of reach after half the stint. Even one point would probably be too little.
One player who had a hand in Bern’s last Champions League victory is Lewin Blum. The 23-year-old full-back scored the 2:0 against Red Star Belgrade in the group stage a year ago, which was synonymous with a European winter. “That was a wonderful moment, a special evening. You always want nights like that,” says Blum.
Blum is likely to be a regular in the back four on Wednesday. After all, he is one of the few remaining fit defenders. Joël Magnin does not have eight defenders at his disposal. “We have to accept the situation and make the best of it,” said the coach. Some U21 players will be in the squad against Shakhtar. Magnin knows them well.
As in the previous season, the U21 coach took over the reins of the first team on an interim basis following the dismissal of the head coach. Under his direction, the team suffered a late defeat at home to Inter Milan. “Every opponent is strong in this competition. We showed against Inter Milan that we are capable of putting in a good performance. We have to do the same against Shakhtar to get points.”
Magnin speaks in the plural. Only a win counts in the duel between the two still goalless teams. Kick-off at Schalke is at 18:45.
SDA
Swiss
