Sparta Prague vs. Slovan Liberec: A Dramatic Return to Form!
Well, ladies and gentlemen, gather around! If anything’s certain in football, it’s that every match comprises both grit and glory—and that’s exactly what we got in the 12th round of the first league! Sparta’s footballers rolled into this one like a bulldozer with a new paint job and said, “Hello, Liberec! Ready for a thrashing?” And, of course, who wouldn’t be entertained by a touch of drama?
It was a crisp day at home for the Prague squad, who, after a couple of setbacks faster than a bad hair day, managed to snatch a victory against Liberec with a score of 2:1. Tomáš Wiesner opened the scoring with a header, putting Sparta in the lead quicker than I can lose a bet on a comedy show. But hang on a second—Marios Purzitidis thought it’d be fun to equalize. One all! The tension was crackling like bad microphone feedback at a comedy gig!
But just as the crowd saw visions of points escaping them, substitute Lukáš Haraslín galloped in, fueled by the energy from the bench like a kid with too much candy, steering the defending champions to victory with a cheeky strike in the 79th minute. Now there’s a way to make an entrance!
Let’s take a moment for our dear friends in the capital. Sparta may currently sit second in the league, trailing Slavia by three points, but fear not, they’ve got their eyes set on conquering new territories! The players are channeling their inner warriors, preparing for an upcoming Champions League bout against none other than Manchester City—talk about aiming for the stars!
Now, coach Lars Friis, bless him, made some tactical adjustments, placing players on the bench like a game of musical chairs because of their alleged low energy post-international break. According to Friis, the priority was to put out a team that could cobble together a win. And lo and behold, they did! Nothing like a bit of teamwork to raise one’s spirits after a tough run, eh?
Let’s rewind to that opening goal from Wiesner. Just eight minutes in, he popped up with a header that made it look like he had eyes in the back of his head! Now, if only he could manage to lend me a bit of that vision during my pivotal attempts to watch football in the pub without missing the punchlines of my own life!
Of course, Sparta also showed a touch of vulnerability—after Wiesner’s strike, things seemed to go a bit quiet, like the aftermath of a particularly bad joke. But then in true football fashion, the tide turned in the second half as Liberec managed to equalize with Purzitidis stealing the spotlight. Let’s take a moment to admire the VAR—the real MVP of the match—reeling in controversy like it’s a season finale of a soap opera!
And just when you thought Liberec might be on the verge of a heroic comeback, Haraslín emerged from the subs’ bench faster than I could say “punchline.” He delivered the decisive blow and put Sparta back in front. Hat tip to him for playing out of position when it was crunch time—it’s like asking a juggler to suddenly perform magic, isn’t it? It’s all part of the madness!
As the match came to a close, Liberec’s coach Radoslav Kováč could only shake his head at the twists of fate. He summed it up perfectly when he said they were reaching for that equalizer, and it slipped through their fingers like a questionable material at Open Mic night. A valiant effort, but alas, the scoreboard had other plans!
The Final Whistle
As it stands, Sparta Prague secured a critical 2:1 victory and maintained their dominance over Liberec, winning the last four encounters. Now they prepare for a clash in Jablonec that promises further excitement and surprises (hopefully not just for the sake of my own sanity!). Football truly is the ultimate comedy, isn’t it? A blend of unpredictable highs, dramatic lows, and our never-ending quest for a punchline—sometimes it just lands!
Stay tuned, dear reader, as the league heats up, and let’s hope we continue to find joy in this beautiful game, because as they say in comedy, timing is everything!
In the 12th round of the first league, Sparta’s footballers defeated Liberec 2:1 at home and won the top competition after two defeats. The people of Prague soon took the lead thanks to Tomáš Wiesner’s goal, Marios Purzitidis equalized after the change of sides, but substitute Lukáš Haraslín gave the defending champions a win in the 79th minute.
Sparta, from the second place in the table, loses three points to the leading city rival Slavia, but Vršovičtí have Sunday’s match in Jablonec to look forward to. The charges of Danish coach Lars Friis were in a winning mood for Wednesday’s Champions League match at Manchester City’s stadium. Slovan was unable to correct the previous home debacle 0:5 in the Podještěd derby with Jablonec and won only one of the last six rounds. He is tenth in the incomplete table.
“We had to get back on the winning track after those losses, that’s why the win from today’s game is the most important thing. We put some players on the bench because they lacked energy after the international break. The priority was to put it together to win,” he said Friis at a press conference.
Sparta’s traditional attacking trio Birmančevič, Olatunji, Haraslín replaced Krasniqi, Rrahmani and Tuci in the starting line-up, Preciado also left the starting eleven after the international break. The home team had a good start and took the lead in the eighth minute. Ryneš crossed to the back post and Wiesner beat Bačkovski with his head. He hit in the league for the first time since last September.
“Ryny and I know that the other one closes the space on the other side. Ryny saw me very well. I like this, closing the back post like that. I also managed to finish well, Ryny did well with the cross,” said Wiesner.
In the next 10 minutes, Ryneš could have increased the score, who, after a mistake by Halinský, advanced alone to the goal, but did not lob the running Bačkovský. Letenští did not create another chance in the first half, Slovan did not threaten the home goal at all.
Immediately at the end of the second half, Wiesner almost added the second goal for the home team with his head, but Bačkovský pulled the ball over. In the 52nd minute, the guests also threatened the goal for the first time. Tupta caught Wiesner’s back pass, but from the angle he was not mature enough for the goalkeeper Vindahl. After an hour of play on the opposite side, Ryneš shot over from a turn.
In the 63rd minute, the North Bohemians equalized. Stopper Panák directed Halinský’s pass only to Purzitidis, who finished it exactly at the back post. The video referee then reviewed for three minutes whether the ball had already left the field of play before, the goal was eventually awarded. The Greek defender scored his first goal in the Czech top flight since May.
“I spoke to Halim (Halinsky). He told me that maybe it was an out. He saw it that way, but in the end probably not well. I saw the ball so that it was on the line. I don’t know if it was half over. That’s probably VAR ( the video referee) saw better. I was happy at that moment when I got the ball into the net,” said Purzitidis.
But Sparta did not allow the third home loss in the league in a row and decided in the 79th minute after the action of two incoming players from the bench. With a penetrating pass, Suchomel found Haraslín on the front post and he shot past Bačkovský after less than three minutes on the turf. With his fourth goal in the league season, the Slovakian representative became the leader of the team’s top scorers.
“Representational duties took a lot of strength from him, in addition, he was fighting an illness during the week. He was not ready to start from the beginning. But he played an important role. He scored the winning goal, even though he started in midfield, which is not his usual position,” said Friis.
Prague lost only one of the last 10 mutual league duels and defeated Liberec four times in a row in the top competition. Slovan lost the third of the last four matches away from home in the league.
“We equalized at 1:1 and we were reaching for a point here, it would have been beautiful. In the end we lost the match. Šulo (Haraslín) did a great job. It’s a shame because we might have deserved a point here. From the performance and the way we reacted to Jablonec, we will only take the positives,” said Liberec coach Radoslav Kováč, who played for Sparta and worked as an assistant coach there.
Sparta Prague – Slovan Liberec 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: 8. Wiesner, 79. Haraslín – 63. Purzitidis. Referee: Starý – Hájek, Slavíček – Kocourek (video). ŽK: Birmančevič, Olatunji, Friis (coach) – Višinský, Zyba, Purzitidis, Preisler. Spectators: 16,746.
Sparta: Vindahl – Sörensen, Panák, Zelený – Wiesner (66. Suchomel), Kairinen, Sadílek (76. Olatunji), Ryneš – Krasniqi (76. Haraslín), Tuci (46. Birmančevič) – Rrahmani (83. Solbakken). Coach: Friis.
Liberec: Bačkovský – Halinský, Mikula, Purzitidis – Ghali (56. Icha), Zyba (82. Varfolomejev), Hlavatý, Kayondo (56. Preisler) – Višinský (63. Nyarko), Eneme (63. Letenay) – Tupta. Coach: Kováč.
1. Slavia 10 9 1 0 22:2 28 2. Sparta 11 8 1 2 23:12 25 3. Pilsen 11 7 3 1 21:8 24 4. Ostrava 11 5 3 3 13:11 18 5. Olomouc 11 5 3 3 18:17 18 6. Jablonec nad Nisou 10 5 2 3 14:5 17 7. Slovácko 10 4 4 2 8:9 16 8. Hradec Králové 11 4 2 5 9:10 14 9. Mladá Boleslav 10 3 3 4 15 :13 12 10. Liberec 11 3 3 5 16:18 12 11. Bohemians 1905 10 3 3 4 11:14 12 12. Karviná 10 3 3 4 8:13 12 13. Dukla 11 3 2 6 10:16 11 14. Teplice 10 2 1 7 11:19 7 15. Pardubice 11 2 1 8 9:18 7 16. České Budějovice 10 0 1 9 2:25 1
