By Eden Roitfarb and Yossi Medina
Three matchdays of the Europa Conference League are behind us, and we’re at the half-way point of the group stage. Here are some of the best moments from the latest round of games.
Fiorentina finally in business
The Viola’s Conference League campaign has officially started.
Even before the 2022-23 season began, most experts had marked Fiorentina as one of the clear favorites to make a long run deep into the final stages of the competition.
Partly due to their European history and prowess, and partly down to their Serie A counterparts, AS Roma, becoming the first tournament winners last May.
But things did not start smoothly for Vincenzo Italiano’s men - drawing with RFS and losing to Istanbul Basaksehir in their opening two games.
Today’s match against Hearts, at Tynecastle Park, could have been described as a must win, and Fiorentina did just that.
A comfortable 3-0 victory sees them shoot up to second place in the group, and seemingly back on track.
Buonanotte, tifosi Viola 🌙⚜️#ForzaViola #HeartsFiorentina #ACFFiorentina #UECL pic.twitter.com/UDYue6aOq9
— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) October 6, 2022
FC Vaduz cause trouble
The club from Liechtenstein was considered as the ultimate minnow of the tournament.
The only side in the competition to play in a second tier of league football wasn’t supposed to be a real threat.
After standing still against AZ, and losing 4-1 in the process, they played away against Dnipro-1.
Vaduz played well, scoring twice to see out a 2-2 draw.
They’ve now drawn twice in the competition, confirming that any team playing against them will struggle.
Nächster Punktegewinn für unseren FC Vaduz in der UEFA Europa Conference League.
— FC Vaduz (@VaduzFC) October 6, 2022
📜 Hier geht’s zum Spielbericht: https://t.co/Nug91kgsjI#hoppvadoz #supportFCV #fcvaduz #DNIVAD pic.twitter.com/X6Dc15K2hj
FC Ballkani keeps the lead
In both their first two matches, Ballkani from Kosovo led.
Against CFR Cluj, they conceded a late equalizer in added time, and facing Slavia Prague, the Kosovars took the lead twice, but ultimately ended up losing.
Their match in Turkey against Sivasspor was a tremendous show.
This time they conceded first, within a minute, but Ballkani managed to score three in reply.
That wasn’t the end of the match, as once again they failed to hold on the lead.
In the 91st minute, Mustapha Yatabaré was responsible for the Turkish outfit’s equaliser.
But this time, things were different. Three minutes later, Ermal Krasniqi scored a decisive goal for Ballkani.
A 4-3 win for the champions of Kosovo, who celebrate their first ever group stage win.
🔴⚪️ Ulvestad
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) October 6, 2022
🟡⚫️ Thaqi
🟡⚫️ Potoku
🟡⚫️ Korenica
🔴⚪️ Erdoğan Yeşilyurt
🔴⚪️ Yatabaré
🟡⚫️ Krasniqi
Late drama in Sivas as Ballkani win it right at the end with a 94th minute goal! 😱@fcballkani | #UECL pic.twitter.com/LLlk5VVCiZ
Even Stevens in Group G
This leads us to arguably one of the most interesting situations in this year's tournament - Group G.
As CFR Cluj beat Slavia Prague 1-0 in the late window, all teams in the group are on four points - one win, one draw and one loss - and have a goal difference of zero.
Balkani top the table, as they’ve scored the most goals so far, with seven, while Cluj sit at the bottom having scored only two.
This group really is wide open, and anything could happen in the second half of the group stage.
🔝 Včera si do Edenu našlo cestu 18 271 fanoušků a my vám za to z celého srdce děkujeme! 🫶
— SK Slavia Praha (@slaviaofficial) October 7, 2022
Po výhře, po prohře... Ať žije Slavie! ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/SkpWLXiBmO
Silkeborg thrashers
No one could have expected that the little-known Danish side would notch up their first win this tournament in such a one-sided match.
At home to the more experienced FCSB, they took an early lead - it was 2-0 after just eight minutes.
In the end, they came home 5-0 victors - FCSB’s biggest defeat since they lost to Manchester City by the same scoreline in 2016, in the Champions League play-offs.
🔴⚪️ Silkeborg with a 5️⃣ star performance ⭐️@SilkeborgIF | #UECL pic.twitter.com/ehKyAySjw4
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) October 6, 2022
Chakvetadze surprises Basel
Week in week out, we are witnessing a mini-renaissance of Georgian football.
The national team is on fire, and the country’s young talent are showcasing their skills in European leagues and competitions.
Today it was Slovan Bratislava’s midfielder, Giorgi Chakvetadze’s turn. He assisted twice in the Slovakian’s surprising 2-0 victory in Basel.
His second assist came after a great dribble from the halfway line, which took him past three Swiss defenders, before he slotted it through to Aleksandar Čavrić to finish from close range.
A crucial win for Vladimir Weiss Sr. as his team is still in striking distance of second place.
Edited by Alex Smith
Thumbnail photo by Thomas Eisenhuth – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Image
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