Strasbourg (AFP)
After Haifa, the Lokomotiv Plovdiv! Winners, not without suffering, Israelis (3-1, 1-2) in the second preliminary round of the Europa League, the Strasburgers advance cautiously against the Bulgarians at which they move Thursday in the 3rd round to go.
Coach Thierry Laurey, injured slightly on the shoulder (dislocation) during the fire of his building on the night of Monday to Tuesday, is part of the trip to this city of the Balkans, famous for its archaeological heritage dating back to Roman era and which was designated European Capital of Culture in 2019.
He flew Wednesday morning with a group of 21 players including defender Kenny Lala, who was injured in the previous round.
Faced with the winner of the Bulgarian Cup, who stripped the Slovaks Trnava last week (2-0, 1-3) in the second round, Laurey is particularly wary and hopes that his players have retained "the lesson" against the Maccabi Haifa.
"In Israel, we have not been vigilant in two situations and it has cost us dearly.Whatever the opponent, from any country, there are very good football players who can cause us problems, "Laurey told AFP.
"In European Cup, outside, it's still complicated matches because we do not know what to expect.We will stay on guard, everything can happen.Our goal is to reach the group stage we have two legs left, "Adrien Thomasson, a scorer and double-passer against Haifa, told AFP.
If successful, the last stage could be very difficult to overcome because Strasbourg would face the winner of the confrontation between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Vaduz, a modest Liechtenstein team.
The German neighbor (220 km away), 7th in the Bundesliga in 2018-19, had reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last season by losing on penalties to Chelsea, the future winner of the event.
The Germans had also corrected (0-4) Marseille at the Vélodrome in the group phase. Not a trivial matter, but still it is necessary to dismiss the Bulgarians ...
© 2019 AFP