Verona is facing difficulties in the Champions League. After an excellent win against Espanyol, Michael Sanchez’s men faced the match against Sturm Graz with enthusiasm and knew that they had an important opportunity to dream of being among the 24 best and move on the way Is. Top European competition. This was the most accessible opponent in the matches left by Verona’s players – they had three tough nuts left, namely Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal – but Montilivi’s team’s lack of goals earned them condemnation in Austria. The locals won by the minimum and the people of Verona had their options greatly complicated with only three points out of a possible 15. A blow to their aspirations.
In the early stages of the match, Verona tried to control the ball and the match. However, the first quarter of an hour was somewhat difficult and Michel Sánchez’s men were unable to unsettle the Austrian team. The local people did not advance further than three-fourths of the way, but they suffered no losses at the rear. The visitors kept moving the ball, but lacked spark in attack despite Brian Gill standing out with numerous dribbles and feints.
As the match progressed, Verona moved forward and gained the lead but continued without threatening the opponent. The plan was to find spaces and the truth is that Sturm Graz, when they managed to recover the ball, appeared more vertical than the red and white.
It was in the 22nd minute when Verona had their best chance to score. This was the most obvious. Blind found space and sent a deep pass to Iván Martín who, on the right wing, almost reached the baseline to put the ball around the penalty spot and finish past the Verona player. An Austrian defender saved it, but the ball ended up in the shoes of Brian Gil, who dodged one of the opponents and left Ivan Martin alone on the goal line. That’s what the Bilbao player did: all he had to do was push to score, but the ball inexplicably went up.
Since that failure, the Verona team lost and the local team managed to balance the match at the Wörthersee stadium in Klagenfurt. The Austrians connected their passes better and made more inroads into the opponent’s zone, causing Verona’s defense to be more worried than expected. They had a few chances to score, although Gazzaniga had no trouble stopping them.
The people of Verona paid the price for their lack of goals
The course of the game did not change much after the break. Mitchell’s men had a little more persistence, but without success. Proof of this is the fact that he only had one shot on goal. Sensing that more ammunition was necessary, the coach of Aragon started moving the tree in the 51st minute and brought Asprilla onto the field of play. A minute later, Miovski’s goal was disallowed due to clear offside.
The painful losing goal came in the 58th minute. Sturm Graz striker Mika Biereth took advantage of the fact that Gazzaniga did not hold the ball after Jatta’s powerful shot. When he repeated it, the ball hit the shoe of the Austrian team player, who sent it into the back of the net.
The home team’s goal fell like a bucket of cold water on Verona, which tried to row and take off without success. Alejandro Francis had a chance to hit the ball at the left post in the 60th minute, but there were some other moves worth highlighting. Sturm Graz found itself locked in its own zone and Verona, who were not very fresh, had to work hard to overcome the Austrian wall.
Verona’s path to the Champions League is getting tougher: with only three points, they still have to face Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal
Radical solutions were necessary to face adverse circumstances. Michel brought out Danjuma, Stuani and Abel Ruiz to have more dynamite up front, but it was not fruitful. The trip to Klagenfurt ended in tragedy: the result hampered the prospects of Verona whose hopes were fading. Michel Sanchez’s team will need (at least) two miracles against their next three opponents (very important) to reach the ‘Top 24’.
technical sheet
Sturm Graz, 0 – Verona, 0
0 – Sturm Graz: Khudiakov, Gazibegovic, Aivu, Geyerhofer, Lavelli, Chukwuanyi, Kitishvili, Yalkouye (Horvat, min. 65), William Boving (Hirlander, min. 91), Jatta (Yardimci, min. 65) and Bayreuth (Stankovic), min. 75)
0 – Verona: Gazzaniga, Alejandro Francis (Solis, min. 73), Krejci, Juanpe, Blind (Danjuma, min. 67), Miguel Gutierrez, Oriol Romeu, Ivan Martin (Yasser Asprilla, min. 51), Tsygankov (Abel Ruiz), min. 73), Brian Gill and Miowski (Stuani, min 67)
Goal: 1-0, min. 58: Mika Bireth
Referee: Rohit Saggi. He cautioned Ghazibegovic (min 20), Brian Gill (min 64)
Events: Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League played at the Wörthersee Stadium.
