Two goals were worth seeing as Lugano’s home win against Zurich. Ticino also showed its versatility, the goals could not be more different. One of them was particularly charming: Captain Jonathan Sabatini.
In the 23rd minute he found himself outside the defense third with Ignacio Alicia’s long ball on the left wing, just inside the opposition half. And he really set an example: the Argentine set the pace, raced towards the FCZ goal, let Besir Umrajic out with several climbers and then scored to take a 1-0 lead.
Goal No. 2 came in the second minute of extra time in the first half, by Sabbatini himself, and the starting point was former FCZ midfielder Ousmane Doumbia, who first defended the ball vigorously and then slid wide and served right winger Roman Mask. Showing an overview, he put the ball into the backcourt, where Aliciada let the better-placed player Sabatini through. The Uruguay completed a low shot.
Zurich in the 2nd half is very little convincing
In the second half, FCZ coach Bo Henriksen brought in attacking midfielder Antonio Marchesano for striker Roko Simic – perhaps knowing that the FCZ veteran had scored more goals against Lugano than any other opponent in his career (7). In fact, the guests immediately got a high after the break. Cheick Conde (49′) and Jonathan Okita (52′) missed scoring opportunities.
With a good start in the second half, I stayed for FCZ. The longer the game goes on, the more confused it becomes. This played out in favor of Lugano, who was the slightly better team, but deserved the win by converting better chances. Fortunately, Aegon Tosen hit the bar in just 14 minutes. So the score remained 2-0 in favor of Lugano, and this is the fourth consecutive victory for Ticino against Zurich, which in turn suffered its first defeat in 2023.
Here’s how to proceed
Lugano initially snatched third place from St. Gallen, but the Eastern Swiss team could do better on Sunday against Basel. FCZ remains in eighth place – and on Saturday at home against Lucerne on the 25th round they have a chance to collect points in the battle for relegation. Lugano plays next at Servette on Sunday.
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