Against a Top Club
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Sturm Graz kicked off the group stage of the Europa League with a respectable result. Austria’s runner-up managed a 0-0 draw against Ligue 1’s third-place team, Stade Rennes, on Wednesday in front of a home crowd.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Although the visitors were the stronger team and created significantly more chances, the Styrians put up a passionate fight and had goalkeeper Danijl Chudjakov to thank for keeping the score at zero.
According to the club, Sturm’s Otar Kiteishvili was not named to the roster “for load management reasons,” while the injured Jon Gorenc Stankvic started the match on the bench. Coach Fabio Ingolitsch opted for a back three or back five, which struggled from the start against the top French team in front of 13,109 fans.
In the eighth minute, Rennes celebrated what they thought was the opening goal off a corner kick, but Adrien Thomasson’s goal was disallowed for a handball. Five minutes later, Adrien Lepaul, last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer, shot over the bar from a good position. After half an hour, Chudjakov made a foot save on a close-range shot by Lepaul.
Koller Goal Disallowed
After that, the Styrians enjoyed their best stretch of play before halftime. Following a free-kick cross from Jürgen Heil and a header from Joshua Quarshie, Paul Koller headed the ball into the net. However, the goal did not count because Jacob Hödl had previously blocked an opponent while in an offside position (34th minute). Shortly afterward, Luca Weinhandl tried his luck with a shot, though it was harmless (38').
Sturm also had the first chance after the restart—Rennes goalkeeper Brice Samba had to stretch to stop a shot by Hödl (57'). But then Rennes stepped up the pressure again. Chudjakov made key saves against both Lepaul and a follow-up shot by Ludovic Blas (61').
Stade Rennes remained the dominant team, but Sturm fought back with great determination and initially managed to prevent the favorites from creating any real scoring chances—until Mahdi Camara hit the post (74th minute) and Bryan Reynolds missed the target from a few meters out (78th minute). But Sturm also posed a threat once more when Simon Seidl, following a spectacular assist from Filip Rozga, forced goalkeeper Samba into a save with a shot to the near post (84'). The final minutes even belonged to Sturm, but they were unable to convert their chances.
SK Sturm Graz – Stade Rennes 0–0
Graz, Graz-Liebenau Stadium, 13,109, Referee Lukjancukas (LIT)
Sturm: Chudjakow – Vallci (46. Malic), Quarshi, Koller – Heil, Weinhandl, Matoshi (81. Gorenc Stankovic), Balbo (81. Seidl) – Hödl, G. Mamageishvili (61. Rozga) – Beganovic (61. Diakite)
Rennes: Samba – Reynolds (80. Ait Boudlal), Cresswell, Rouault, Nagida – Camara – Blas (80. Mayenda), Szymanski (72. Rongier), Thomasson, Al-Taamari (72' Nordin) – Lepaul (86' Dia)
Yellow cards: Balbo , Gorenc Stankovic, Ingolitsch (coach); none for Rennes
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