Young Boys did not look good in the 5-0 defeat in Barcelona. On Sunday, they face a crucial match against FCB in the championship.
Of course, it is no disgrace for a Swiss club to lose away at FC Barcelona - not even by such a margin. The differences in the clubs' financial resources and the quality of their squads are too great. The fact that there was nevertheless a certain disappointment among the Bernese after the game at the Olympic Stadium was due to the team's performance, which, as so often in recent weeks, looked unsettled.
Like Aston Villa, Barcelona did not have to make much of an effort to succeed against the Swiss champions. Against the English side, the Young Boys took themselves out of the game through their own mistakes, and against the Spaniards they were inferior in every respect. They were too hesitant in tackles and simply lost too many balls, said Jaouen Hadjam after the game. Meanwhile, his defensive colleague Lewin Blum was almost submissive: "It was incredible to see Barcelona's dominant passing game on the pitch. It wasn't always pretty, we had to chase a lot. But it shows us where we still need to work."
"We imagined a different start to the season"
There was little sign of the self-confidence that YB had built up in recent years, including at international level. In 2021, the club from Bern beat Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of the Europa League, while the following Champions League campaign saw a home win against Manchester United and a draw away from home. Even last year, when they suffered a total of four defeats against Manchester City and RB Leipzig, the players were able to leave the pitch with their heads held high. Because if you wanted to win against YB, you had to work hard for the victory.
This cannot be said at the moment. "Self-confidence is certainly not the best at the moment," confirmed Blum. The reason is clear: YB are not making any headway in the championship and, after their first win of the season against Winterthur last weekend, promptly suffered their next setback with a 1-0 home defeat against GC. In eight rounds, the Bernese have picked up just six points: it is their weakest start to the championship in the Super League era (since 2003). "We clearly imagined a different start to the season," said Blum.
"Knowing the situation we're in"
The big challenge now is to regain the self-confidence with which YB has sometimes been able to force victories in recent years. But how? For Blum, one thing is clear: "Back to basics. We have to act as a team again, go full throttle and put our opponents under pressure with high intensity." Hadjam, meanwhile, spoke of staying positive and continuing to work hard in training. These are anything but ground-breaking recipes, which also reflect the current lack of ideas on the pitch.
However, effective measures are urgently needed now, because the football business is notoriously impatient. With every defeat, the pressure on the team and especially on coach Patrick Rahmen increases. "We know what situation we're in. But I also sense that everyone wants to get out of it as quickly as possible," said Blum.
The next chance to do so is on Sunday. Then it's the championship classic against FC Basel, who are also currently in a slump. Shortly before the national team break, both teams - and above all both coaches - need a sense of achievement.
SDA
