After 18 of the 22 rounds in this year’s Allsvenskan, Djurgården has led the table. When the 23rd was to end, the team had the chance to go up by three points before both Malmö and AIK.
– We know what it would have given us. It is clear that it is heavy, says Magnus Eriksson after the match.
Instead, it was Elfsborg who came very close to the top teams.
Malmö FF now leads the series, while Djurgården is second with 44 points, the same as MFF and AIK.
Elfsborg passes at the same time IFK Norrköping, who lost to Häcken, and is fourth with 42 points.
– It will be decided in the final round, I have said it before, says Magnus Eriksson.
Djurgården had most of the game in the beginning of the match, but it was Elfsborg’s counterattacks that were decisive.
– We are very good in our adjustments and put passes with timing several times, which means that we can win a difficult away match. I’m very happy about that, says Elfsborg’s coach Jimmy Thelin.
Djurgårdens Thomas Lagerlöf says that “a lot was good, but the whole thing still becomes a pancake”.
– They do what we do not do, which is a pretty important part of football. It’s scoring goals. It will be easier to win football matches then. It was a close and tough match just as we expected.
When about ten minutes had passed, chances rang out, in both directions.
The most spectacular had the guests. Directly on a Djurgårdshörna counter Elfsborg, Jeppe Okkels ran towards goal and got a shot that meant a lead. The ball went into the post.
With 20 minutes played Elfsborg took the lead. It was another counterattack that was behind the goal, when Per Frick got the ball to Simon Olsson who nodded in the open goal.
There was jubilation in the small square with “guligans” and other Elfsborgers, who were otherwise in a large numerical disadvantage in the stands.
– Their counterattacks are high class. We’re not that good at dealing with it. I think we keep the baton in large parts of the match, but it is decided in the penalty areas and there we are not good enough, says Magnus Eriksson.
The guests continued to come to dangerous conclusions. A few minutes later, Simon Olsson had a great opportunity to hit the ball in the open goal at the far post, when Frick found him again. It should have been 2-0, but he knocked it out.
It was Djurgården’s first home game since the pandemic restrictions were released, and the 19,443 in the stands contributed a lot to creating a hot atmosphere despite the biting cold in the air.
Even on the coaching staff the emotions were intense. At the end of the first half, the referee gave a leader in Elfsborg a red card for protests in connection with a free kick.
Just before the break, it got irritated between the teams when Djurgården first wanted a penalty, then it got rowdy between the players in midfield. Elliot Käck and Per Frick both received warnings for the riot.
In the second half, it continued to swing.
Shortly after the break, Kalle Holmberg had a similar situation at the far post as that of Simon Olsson in the first half. With an open goal, he also missed, and on the counterattack, Elfsborg increased instead. Rasmus Alm scored 2-0.
With barely an hour played Elfsborgsspelarna thought they had done 3-0 as well, and ran off to the bench and celebrated. Simon Strand’s free kick had gone straight into goal. But after conferring with the lineman, referee Mohammed Al-Hakim blew off the case by hand.
With just under a quarter of an hour left, it was another counterattack from Elfsborg that punctured the match. Rasmus Alm scored his second goal of the evening.
On the long sides, people started going home.
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