Europa League Luzern - 2nd Qualifying Round - Draw - 19 June Matches 13 July and 20 July Sion - 3rd Qualifying Round - Draw - 14 July Matches 27 July and 3 Aug - Sion has announced that they will play their Europa League matches in Geneva. There will be a new heating system under the Toubillion grass, and it will not be ready by the 3rd Qualifying round. Lugano - Group Stage Draw - 25 Aug Champions League YB - 3rd Qualifying Round (League Route) Draw - 14 July Matches 25/26 July and 1/2 Aug Basel - Group stage. Draw - 24 August
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2018/matches/round=2000887/match=2021846/index.html is about the game, which was at Osijek. If Luzern advances, they will host the second leg against PSV Eindhoven. Sion will host the second leg against Liepaja of Latvia or Suduva Marijampole of Lithuania, who win the first leg 2-0 in Latvia. Young Boys will host the second leg against Dinamo Kiev.
Swiss soccer is all abuzz over how horrible Luzern performed yesterday. Some were calling it the most shameful performance in years, and some were even suggesting that, moving forward, Luzern should just allow another team to play in their spot. Sion got a great draw. They should have no issues moving through to the playoff round. Young Boys will have a very tough time getting past Dynamo Kyiv. Was hoping that they would get Viktoria Plzen, but wasn't meant to be.
Sion did get a great draw, but YB's is very difficult. Maybe they can pull a FC Thun! Luzern was very disappointing. Lots of work to do there.
Luzern got the win, 2-1, but do not advance. They when up 2-0 until the 72' when they let in a goal. At least they got some points ...
Summarizing 3rd Qualifying Action: Champions League: 26 July/2 August Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Young Boys (SUI) Europa League: 27 July/3 August Sūduva (LTU) v Sion (SUI) 19:00 Group stage. Champions League: Draw - 24 August Basel
YB goes down 3-1 in Kyiv. They scored in the 90' and bring life to the 2nd leg, then they gave up another. They still have a chance next week. Sion up today.
Sion's budget - 23 million Euros Suduva's budget - 700,000 Euros Ouch! There were about 100 Sion fans who made the trip. With the 2012/2013 season now gone from the rankings, the Swiss have fallen behind the Austrians and Greece is close by. I expect this season to be another difficult one for the Swiss sides in Europe. YB could do something in the Europa League if Nsame and Horau get on the same page quickly.
The coefficient is going to take a big hit. Lugano has yet to play, but they will be Pot 4, so they could wind up finishing 4th in their group. Basel needs a strong showing in the Champions League group stages. Can't afford to miss the Europa League if you're not getting out of the groups. YB could make a run in the Europa League to the knockouts, which would be huge, but if they're challenging for the title, they may not care about Europe. We could very well see a time where only the Champions go to the Champions League and only 2-4 go to the Europa League if Swiss teams aren't careful.
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2018/matches/round=2000879/match=2021564/index.html says Lotomba was the hero as he gave Young Boys a 2-0 lead which they kept to advance on away goals. Possession was close, with Young Boys having 51%, but Young Boys dominated shots (18 to 1), shots on target (7 to 1), corner kicks (8 to 0), and yellow cards (they had 2 and Dynamo Kyiv had 7). Sion was eliminated after a 1-1 draw.
Nice to see YB get the win and advance. Sion, Sion, Sion. With two clubs out, and the two earning 1.5 points each, ouch! YB has guarenteed themselves at worst a spot in the Europa League Group stage. That means that at worst there will be 1 club the the Champions League Group stage, and 2 in the Europa League Group Stage. At best it is the other way around. For the coeffeciant, I think that YB in the EL will be better. For their fans, the CL is better. YB could get Sevilla, Napoli. Liverpool. CSKA Moscow or Sporting. None of those seem like a fun get. Swiss teams have played very poorly vs Spanish and Portugese teams. Basel and Thun had success vs England. Maybe Napoli ... I do not see them advancing.
One other thing. Greece will pass Switzerland next season, unless they have a terrible season, and Switzerland has a great one. In addition, the Czech Republic could pass the Swiss as well. So cheer against Greece and Czech teams, and for the Swiss!
In the club coefficients, CSKA Moscow and Sporting aren't way ahead of Young Boys. Those two possible opponents and Liverpool have a lower coefficient than Dynamo Kyiv. Young Boys probably won't advance, but you can hope. Lugano will have one of the worst coefficients in the Europa League Group Stage, but last season Hapoel Be'er Sheva had the second worst coefficient (47th out of 48), and they beat Inter Milan twice and advanced. I was unable to find yesterday's attendance for the other second leg, but all 29 first legs got over 1,000 people.
http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2017/m=8/news=euro-stars-comebacks-and-a-circus-trick-2902842.html says: "72 seconds is all that remained when 18-year-old Jordan Lotomba – four minutes after coming on – headed home the goal which snatched Young Boys a place in the UEFA Champions League playoff round and eliminated Dynamo Kiev via away goals."
I think YB got the best possible draw that they could. I think they can hang with CSKA and maybe even steal this thing. They will need to play at their best, but, most of all, they need to have a great first leg at home, and their fans need to show up and pack the Stade de Suisse to help carry them. Hopp YB!!