Ex-BVB striker all smiles: Moukoko fires Copenhagen into Europe | OneFootball

He hasn’t had it easy lately. Youssoufa Moukoko (21) had been facing some criticism in Denmark. It also seemed as though he would fail to make his breakthrough at FC Copenhagen. But now the former BVB striker has struck a major blow.

On Thursday (21 May), Bröndby IF and FCK faced off. At stake was Denmark’s second participant in the UEFA Conference League after FC Nordsjaelland. In the emotion-filled derby, neither side gave the other an inch. There was hardly any flow to the game, as minor and major fouls kept causing stoppages. By the end of the day, the referee had handed out ten yellow cards and one red.

There were hardly any attacking moves in the first half, as both back lines were extremely disciplined and reluctant to take risks. The teams went into the dressing rooms with a deserved 0-0.

First on the bench – then match-winner

The picture barely changed after the break at first. But then events came thick and fast. Bröndby forward Mayckel Lahdo (23) was sent off in the 67th minute for a bad foul.

Down to ten men, Bröndby immediately came under pressure. FC Copenhagen ruthlessly made use of their numerical advantage and took a 1-0 lead just ten minutes after the sending-off through former Frankfurt man Aurelio Buta (29) (77th minute). But Bröndby showed enormous character. Despite being a man down, the team refused to give up and got the hugely celebrated 1-1 equalizer through Mads Frökjaer-Jensen (26) in the 80th minute. The match now went to extra time.

Photo: IMAGO

In extra time, it was Moukoko’s moment. He had come on after 74 minutes. In the 103rd minute, the former Dortmund man beat Bröndby keeper Patrick Pentz (29) to make it 2-1. Bröndby threw everything forward in the closing stages, but in stoppage time of extra time they suffered the final knockout blow. It was Moukoko again, putting the game to bed with the 3-1 (120+3) and firing Copenhagen into Europe.

Lately, the youngster had mostly been used as a substitute. He made his dissatisfaction clear when he deleted videos and photos related to Copenhagen on Instagram. Despite being under contract until 2030, a summer move certainly seemed possible. With his brace, Moukoko has now vigorously advertised his own qualities.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.