Half of the league phase of the Champions League has been completed and Young Boys are still without points. Is qualification for the knockout phase still realistic?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- YB also lose their fourth game of the current Champions League campaign against Shakhtar and are on the brink of elimination.
- Although YB were not expected to qualify for the knockout phase, Mladen Petric made it clear: "It's sobering for Swiss football."
- But the end is not yet sealed - and Alex Frei believes things will improve: "I say YB will take seven points from the last four matches."
Young Boys were beaten 2-1 by Shakhtar Donetsk despite taking the lead at one stage and thus also lost their fourth match of this year's Champions League campaign. With no points and a goal difference of 1:11, the Bernese are in 34th place in the league table - only Red Star Belgrade and Slovan Bratislava have done worse so far.
Premature end looms
After the defeat in Gelsenkirchen, qualification for the round of 16 is now a distant prospect. YB are already five points adrift of 24th place, which PSV Eindhoven currently occupy. There is little to suggest that the Bernese side will be able to close the gap in the remaining rounds.
"Right from the start, we weren't sure whether we would qualify for the knockout phase 100 percent," blue Sport expert Mladen Petric makes clear. However, Petric does not believe that the Bernese will lose their enjoyment of the top flight as a result. "You'll still have fun afterwards if you can play in the Champions League. If you can score, there's always good sack money. But of course, it's sobering for Swiss football."
Frei dares to make a prediction
YB's elimination is not yet sealed, at least not mathematically. There are still games against Atalanta Bergamo, Stuttgart, Celtic Glasgow and Red Star Belgrade on the program. "Mathematically, you get 12 points," Alex Frei calculates in the Champions League studio of blue Sport and dares to make a bold prediction: "I say YB will get seven points from the last four matches."
That would most likely not be enough to advance to the knockout phase. But it would be a much-needed sense of achievement for Swiss football and especially for the reigning champions. Because Sandro Lauper admits after the game in Gelsenkirchen: "We're on the rims."
