I'm actually not entire sure, but my guess would be it was communist vanity project. It is excessively large and not as modern looking from the outside (still fairly comfortable place to see a match), it would take almost half the people in Teplice attending to fill it.
Soucek gets the fifth, Jusuf had one go just wide. We'll win 5-1 but could have just as easily scored 7. I know Teplice are bad but after a sluggish start this feels better.
Petr Sevcik who did very little last season (except his 2 wonder goal performance against Chelsea) actually the Slavia player that stood out to me. 3 assists and in general very involved playing from the right side of midfield.
Plzen begin European qualification today hosting Olympiakos in what should be a very competitive Champions league qualification round. Czech league is a bit ahead of Greek in coefficient, but Olympiakos are the traditional giants of that league and have some quality. I think Plzen will win the home leg, not sure about the round as a whole. Defense is a liability and they haven't managed a clean sheet in their first two matches. Plzen's lineup This is our line-up against @olympiacos_org! 💪#fcvp #UCL #PLZOLY pic.twitter.com/77c4mkZ21x— FC Viktoria Plzeň 🇬🇧 (@fcviktoria_en) July 23, 2019 Hlousek and Havel getting their first starts of the season. The strength has really been the midfield especially the attacking 3, Cermak providing great linkup so far between Kopic and Kayamba. If Krmencik gets his scoring touch back they can do some damage.
It's about 35 minutes in, based on match reporting Plzen are getting into better positions but no real dangerous efforts yet. Olympiakos has been occasionally dangerous when in position to cross, but seem to be struggling to break through the middle. And Cermak just forced a great save by their keeper. Plzen seem to be growing into the match more, but can't take too many risks with their defense.
Pernica hit the post from a corner just at the end of the half. Seems like if Plzen keeps it up they will get the first goal, but they really need more than 1 to feel good about advancement.
Kayamba with a near miss for Plzen early in the 2nd. A rare bright moment for him as it seems he's been active but sloppy according to match reports. Wouldn't be surprised if he's the first sub out. Plzen who were praised for their efficiency last weekend may come to regret wasted chances if they don't score.
This match is evening out in the later stages, I think Plzen missed a golden chance earlier to take a commanding position in this round. Still about 15 minutes to go, but Plzen have looked weak on set-piece defense and this match could go either way still.
Plzen 0 - 0 Olympiacos Plzen could easily of taken an advantage with them to Greece, but will need a result away to continue Champions League qualifying and avoid Europa League.
For as much time as I spent talking about how much Plzen's defense is a weakness, Olympiacos had 0 shots on target. Lukas Kalvach in midfield is helping them out a lot, broke up most attacks in midfield.
Considering what I've mentioned about the league and bad schedule planning, it should come as no surprise that Jablonec's vice-chairman is Miroslav Pelta the highly influential former FACR director:.. Turns out, FK Jablonec are only now — pretty much exactly 24 hours before their kick off in Gyumri — leaving Prague, due to a complicated process of obtaining a permission to fly over Belarus.Not the most straightforward route to Armenia, might I (/ uncle Google) suggest. pic.twitter.com/kAvPfRpxv0— Czech Football 🇨🇿 (@czechfooty) July 24, 2019 Jablonec will likely arrive in Armenia less than 18 hours before kickoff.
Thankfully it's not a long flight, but that is cutting it close. Bad weather or delays could make the club miss that match.
It's also true that in UEFA fixtures like this many clubs and fans complain about the long trip without remembering that the other team has to do the exact same. Mlada Boleslav have to go even farther to Kazakhstan next week, which despite its Soviet history, is really a stretch geographically for UEFA membership.
Pyunik 2 - 1 Jablonec Jablonec started the match about like you'd expect a team that arrived in Armenia 12 hours before kickoff and had no chance to train before the match, by conceding goals on the first chances by the other team. The Armenian club also moved the match from the capital to small mountain city to play in both heat and elevation. They woke up a bit in the 2nd half and picked up an away goal that should put them in good position for the return leg. Looked for much of the last 25 that they'd get a second. Still a very poor performance starting with the travel planning, but still would say they are highly likely to move on.
Mlada Boleslav need someone besides Komlicenko that is willing to shoot. They are completely dominating possession but keep trying to pass to him through a crowded penalty box instead of taking a shot. from 10 yards... Overall though, I think if they can take a lead into the next round they have a better chance than I though comingt into today. Mlada Boleslav have looked out of form this season, but Ordabasy looks completely helpless outside of the one freekick (after a very questionable foul call). It the score stays even though, I would say its 50-50.
We're dominating but sloppy... Coufal's goal was lucky but at least we deserve to be up. Something isn't working, and I hate to say that I think it's Soucek. He's playing more forward than he did in the past, seems a bit over-confident in his abilities on the ball instead of playing to his physical strengths.
I also think Kral needs to start matches against weaker oponents, Traore's box-to-box game is crucial for European matches, but Kral is better at passing when we have possession. Also still think Stanciu and Jusuf will start by the time Champions League qualifying starts.
Game paused because of smoke from the ultra's pyrotechnics, Coufal is screaming at them which I can support... a few flares add atmosphere but that is some Sparta nonsense.
I was about to say our defense is looking better than a complete disarray at the back. We survived but now they are checking VAR and giving a weak penalty, the Olomouc player stubbed his toe and fell wasn't tripped. And the post don't lie! missed and cleared.
I thought the penalty was fair, Boril stuck his leg in the path of the defender, but a terrible miss. Slavia don't look especially convincing though and I agree part of it is Soucek.