What did Sparta show against Viking? Excellent Fortelný or Zelený, Kuchta could do nothing in attack

Sparta drew at home to Norwegian Viking in the opening match of the second round of the Conference Europa League and slightly complicated their path to promotion. What did Sparta show in the match and how did its players perform?

The Prague team was a big favourite in the match, Sparta fans were expecting a win, but the tight defence of the visiting Vikings did not let them into many scoring opportunities.

Just like against Paksi, they failed to convert their chances and if the match had ended with a bigger win for Sparta, no one would have been surprised. Her performance was not bad at all and can definitely be built upon.

How did the players perform?

Dominik Holec was not too busy in goal, he hesitated once, but he was quite confident in the midfield and helped his team. Jan Mejdr made his debut in the red jersey and was very cautious in the first half.

He delayed the game and was one of the worst players on the pitch. However, he picked up significantly in the second half and once he got more space on the line, it immediately became clear why Sparta was buying him.

Jaroslav Zelený was one of the best all game. He was not afraid of risky tackles or passes, defended excellently and together with Dávid Hanck, who played his high standard, he didn’t let the attackers do anything.

Tomas Wiesner played decently at left-back, although he didn’t do much of anything, he didn’t take advantage of his scoring opportunities. Jakub Pesek played in his spring form, he didn’t impress with his performance.

Lukáš Sadílek’s performance was completely different. He is excellent on the ball, he is not afraid of interesting passes, he will be a huge asset once he gets fully comfortable with the team.

So is Jan Fortelný, who could be described as the man of the match. Some didn’t trust him when he returned from his loan spell, but after many loan spells, he finally made it into the team and immediately started to pay it forward.

Adam Karabec in the offensive midfield gave a better performance than the ones he showed last season, but he doesn’t play very well in a closed defense. If Sparta score the first goal in the rematch, his person on the field will be very beneficial.

Lukáš Haraslín is a chapter in his own right. He gave good performances in the preparation, he also tried his best against Viking, but he is brought down by constant simulation, which the fans in the stands have been tired of for a long time.

Jan Kuchta is the last of the foundation. He hasn’t done much in attack, nor could he. But that doesn’t mean he played badly. He tried to offer, he tired the defense, but he couldn’t score.

Coach Brian Priske used four substitutions, the first of which was Tomas Cvančara replacing Haraslín in the 64th minute. The lanky forward had perhaps the best chance of the game, with a header from close range that missed and sent the ball over the crossbar.

Kryštof Daněk looked better than Karabec in the preparation, but this was not the case against Viking. He was afraid to play and once he tried, he lost the ball. The substitution of Michal Sacek for Fortelny didn’t improve the game much, nor did the arrival of Martin Minchev.

Source: AC Sparta Praha