Ferencváros will host Swedish side Malmö FF in the Groupama Arena in the fifth round in three weeks' time.Continue reading
FTC (Ferencváros / Fradi) defeated Swedish side Malmö 4-1 at home in the fifth round of the Europa League’s first leg, and secured their place in the knockout stage with Thursday’s win.
The Hungarians took a two-goal lead after just over ten minutes through Barnabás Varga’s double, but the visitors soon added to their tally through Norwegian Erik Botheim’s penalty. After the half-time change, Brazilian Kady Borges restored the difference with a beautiful goal and the final score was set by a header from Frenchman Ibrahim Cissé.
The Green and Whites moved up three places to 11th, and the nine points will probably earn them progression, as the UEFA simulation suggests an average of 7.6 points may be needed to progress in February.
The top eight finishers in the eight-round knockout stage will go straight through to the last eight, while the 9th-24th-placed teams will battle it out in a back-and-forth tie for a place in the last 16.
The Green and Whites started with tremendous momentum, literally jumping at their opponents, who immediately showed that Malmö’s injury-ravaged defense was vulnerable. Despite the first missed chances, the Hungarian champions took the lead early on as Varga confidently converted a penalty for his foul.
Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
After ten minutes Ferencváros doubled their lead with a well-executed counter-attack, but they could not rest as Sweden were awarded a penalty in a seemingly innocuous situation, and they made it count.
Following a lively first twenty minutes, the game became evenly matched, with more of the play taking place in Ferencváros’ half of the pitch.
Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
In the second half, Ferencváros continued to win the ball in midfield and from there they led a series of dangerous actions. From one such one-man attack, Kady curled a masterful shot into the net. Sweden’s attacks were a bit static, but Dibusz still had two big saves to make. Around the 70th minute the Scandinavians began to take control, but Cissé’s header was particularly timely to put the game to bed. For the remaining quarter of an hour, Malmö lost faith and Ferencváros could have increased their lead, but no more goals were scored.
Ferencváros will visit Greece’s PAOK in Thessaloniki in the sixth round in two weeks’ time.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert