Shaqiri’s failure in his debut – FCZ counters Basel and wins the classic – Sport

It took twelve seconds after a Basel corner until the ball was in the goal on the other side of the pitch behind FCB keeper Marwin Hitz: The Zurich team countered the home team perfectly in the 31st minute. Samuel Ballet, Nikola Katic, Mounir Chouiar, one hook, one shot – 0:1.

Ten minutes after the break, Juan José Perea followed up decisively on a (actually not very precise) pass from Cheick Condé, steered away the hesitant FCB defender Jonas Adjetey and slid the ball flatly past Hitz and into the net. The score remained 2-0 from Zurich’s perspective until the end.

Comas drops out early

The more aggressive team won a party that offered scenes in the penalty area, especially in the second half. Basel deserves credit for never giving up. Celestini’s team, which had to replace injured defender Arnau Comas after just 11 minutes, lacked pressure and precision in the final pass.

The majority of the 36,000 fans (more than at a Basel league home game in 10 years) left the stadium disappointed, some even early.

Katic’s highs and lows

Katic was in the spotlight several times in the first half. The Bosnian FCZ defender initiated Basel’s first good chance with a blackout, but Benié Traoré did not make enough of it (21′). After his dream pass to Chouair for the opening goal, Katic received a yellow card shortly afterwards for a “monster tug”.

Xherdan Shaqiri was in the starting lineup for the first time at FC Basel. The 32-year-old showed some good passes, but also began to struggle when a teammate did not respond to his ideas. The super technician hammered a good free kick opportunity into the FCZ wall (84′).

Baro is sent off

FCB midfielder Romario Baro made a Super League debut to forget. The Portuguese, who had only played in the cup so far, learned nothing from the yellow card he received in the 77th minute. Nine minutes later, he unmotivatedly attacked Nemanja Tosic and was rightly shown a second yellow card. This dashed Basel’s last hopes of a late turnaround.

Thanks to FCZ’s first victory over Basel since May 2023 (also a 2-0 win in the “Joggeli”), coach Ricardo Moniz’s team knocked FC Luzern off the top after three hours. Basel remained on its 10 points and 5th place.

This is how it continues

FCB will play in Lucerne next Sunday. On the same day, Zurich will host newly promoted Sion.