UEFA Champions League Full Time Report: CFR Cluj vs Basel, Cluj hold onto early lead to scrape past Basel
Tonight's game between Cluj and Basel was looking to be one of the most unpredictable matches to date in the Champions League. This was mainly due to the fact that both these teams had never faced off against each other in the past; in fact neither of the
teams had faced opponents from the opposing country before either.
Going into the game experts found it very hard to depict exactly what was going to happen. Considering both the teams were currently on par in their domestic leagues it only made predicting the game even harder. However both the teams were aware of the three
points that were up for grabs and were hence determined to go all out to get them.
Despite that fact a few of the experts eventually ended up picking Cluj to win the game, this was down to the fact that Cluj has a slightly better defensive line up when compared to Basel. Basel were also well known for missing countless chances before finally
finding the back of the net, if they lived up to their reputation on the night, then they were without a doubt going to suffer at the hands of Cluj.
The match kicked off with Cluj gaining the upper hand on Basel in the early stages of the match. Eight minutes into the game Cluj were one goal up courtesy of Culio. Rada rose the above the Basel defence to meet a corner that Culio whipped in with pin point
accuracy to give the home team the lead.
Six minutes later it was Culio doing all the dictating again. He hustled past the Basel defence before clipping a ball to the on rushing Traore, who slammed the ball into the back of the net.
However from then on the game managed to settle down a bit, with Basel coming back into it. The team finally started playing like champions they were and were on top of things for a change.
In the last minute of added time at the end of the first half, Basel finally got a goal back that blew the game wide open. Frei delivered a beautiful out swinging corner that Stocker guided into the back of the net.
At the half time break both teams went in knowing that all three points were still potentially up for grabs.
The second half kicked off, however it was nothing compared to the first. It was far more boring to say the least. Both the teams were scared of going on the offensive for the fear that the other team would score the decisive goal. It is because of this
kind of team mentality that FIFA are considering reintroducing the Golden Goal rule once again.
The only highlight in the second half was when Streller brought down Traore with a cynical foul awarding the home team a free kick in a dangerous area and picking up a yellow card for his efforts. However sticking with how the second half was going, the
free kick resulted in nothing.
The match ended with Cluj managing to keep the three points that they earned in the first half and after nearly boring the fans to death with their second half performance.
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