Ferencváros started their UEFA Europa League campaign with an impressive win in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom against Celtic. However, that does not mean that their season as a whole is off to a flawless start: they have dropped quite a few points in the domestic league already—for example, against Debrecen last weekend, in a game that ended in a 1–1 draw.
Fradi’s next EL opponents, the Czech side Viktoria Plzeň, lost their first game in the competition. They ran into a hefty, 0–3 beating against Royale Union SG from Belgium. The two major Eastern European clubs met at the Groupama Arena in Budapest, Hungary on Thursday, 15 October.
Even before the ball was kicked, the home fans were in for a surprise. Instead of team captain and highly experienced goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz, 20-year-old Dániel Radnóti started in the Ferencváros goal, who has not even made his debut in the first division of Hungarian football yet.
It took 10 minutes for Radnóti to be called into action. He successfully parried a long-range shot by Amar Memić away, heading right below the crossbar in the middle of the goal.
Just five minutes later, Veljko Birmančević of Ferencváros found himself with no one between him and the opposition goal but Plzeň keeper Dominik Ťapaj about 15 yards out, but his disappointing finish was collected by Ťapaj.
Near the end of the half, FTC centre-back Mariano Gómez made himself stand out, something that players rarely have the chance to do in his position. Memić was running towards the Fradi goal on a breakaway, but Gómez caught up with him and ended the threat with a clean tackle. Thus, the half ended goalless.
Kristoffer Zachariassen broke the deadlock in the 49th minute. He received a pass from Birmančević at the edge of the box, took a touch to get inside the area, then slotted the ball into the bottom far corner. Norwegian attacking midfielder Zachariassen, wearing the captain’s armband in lieu of Dibusz for the game, also scored against Celtic in the last EL round.
In the 80th minute, Fradi fans and players alike were delighted to be awarded a penalty after Birmančević was tripped inside the box, but the call was voided due to an offside ruled by the linesman. In yet another twist, VAR review determined that Birmančević was onside after all. Thus, Zachariassen stepped up and converted the PK, doubling FTC’s lead.
Plzeň were able to pull one back in the 90th minute. A corner was flicked on in the near post, then was met by Denis Višinský at the far post, who tucked it away from just a few steps.
It was close, but no cigar for the Czech visitors in the end. The game ended 2–1 for the home side.
Ferencváros knocked out four teams in the Europa League qualifiers without losing a single game. In the league phase, their unbeaten run continues, with two wins against Celtic and Viktoria Plzeň, no less!
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