TV: The dream of playing in a group was broken

The start of the match closed at Eleda Stadion between two teams who knew each other and were happy to hit the longest ball. The first shot came just under 20 minutes when Víctor Díaz fired over Marko Johansson’s center on a second ball. Even closer, midfielder Germán Sánchez came a few minutes later when he headed a corner. Y

Granada’s first goal came within half an hour of play. Antonio Puertas appeared just in time near the post and led him past the goalkeeper. Four minutes later came MFF’s first scoring opportunity. Isaac Kiese Thelin found Ola Toivonen down the right in the penalty area but Rui Silva saved the shot with a pair of legs.

MFF made the equalizer in the 45th minute. Sánchez put his head in a long throw-in by Jonas Knudsen, but against his own goal, and Jo Inge Inge Berget was able to put the ball that went to the post before that.

But in the 58th minute the guests took it up again. A left-handed shot from Carlos Neva passed over the entire MFF defense and reached Puertas, who masterfully placed the header from the right into the penalty area. A few minutes later, Anel Ahmedhodzic got into an open position with a free kick by Erdal Rakip, but saw the shot saved by Silva.

In the 66th minute, MFF’s Eric Larsson fell dramatically outside the penalty area. However, the shot was completely deflected and went into the air. Towards the end of the match, Granada retained control of events. The La Liga team did not allow MFF to establish longer play sequences and showed that it is a strong defensive team. It also didn’t help that Anders Christiansen came back with a 20-minute long jump.

The match was punctured in the 84th minute. A free kick to the left side found Yangel Herrera in the penalty area, who fired the ball with a shot that passed Johansson. MFF had qualified for the Europa League group matches two seasons in a row. The dream of a third participation was shattered tonight against a team that was significantly better than the MFF received in the previous EL playoffs. Instead, it will be Granada who will make a historic debut in the group stage.

– It’s a close match, we do well in the first half but then they make it 2-1 in the second half and then they play smart football and they make us frustrating. They win at the end with 3-1 and they do it well deserved, says Ola Toivonen to Viaplay.

Startelvor:

MFP: Johansson – Larsson, Ahmedhodzic, Brorsson, Knudsen – Berget, Rakip (replaced 71 ‘), Lewicki, Rieks (71’) – Toivonen (K), Kiese Thelin (77 ‘)