Strasbourg must fix three flaws after 0-2 at Mainz to keep semi-final hopes alive | OneFootball

Strasbourg have a week to put right three issues after a 0-2 first-leg defeat at Mainz’s Mewa Arena if they are to reach the Europa Conference League semi-finals. According to L'Équipe, the damage owed to a slow start, slack set-piece marking and a muddled midfield.

As in the 3-2 at Nantes on 22 March, they conceded inside the opening quarter of an hour and spent the night chasing. Gary O'Neil did not pin it on stage fright, pointing instead to focus and better preparation.

He accepted the opener could happen, coming from a young player's mistake and a deflected strike into the top corner, but he was not satisfied with the second, conceded from a corner after loose marking around the box. He stressed corners are decisive and that Mainz threatened from several.

O'Neil kept the 4-2-3-1 but split his usual double pivot of Valentin Barco and Samir el-Mourabet, pushing El-Mourabet up behind Julio Enciso. The Barco and Maxi Oyedele pairing misfired, and El-Mourabet looked uncomfortable as a false No 10. The midfield neither controlled tempo nor used the ball cleanly, and transitions were too risky.

At the final whistle tempers flared as Armindo Sieb pulled Diego Moreira's hair before referee Rade Obrenovic booked four, including Moreira and O'Neil. The return is at La Meinau next Thursday at 21:00, and Strasbourg need solutions fast.

Source: L'Équipe