International breaks often provide teams with a chance to reset, recalibrate their compasses and seek mental and physical refreshment, alongside implementing little tactical tweaks on the training pitches to prepare for the resumption of action afterwards. Here is how each team in the BGL Ligue fared upon their return.

Union’s talisman is fit and firing again

UN Käerjéng put an end to their seven-game winless streak when they defeated newly-promoted Schifflange in Matchday 8, before stealing a point from defending champions Hesperange right before the international window.

They looked set to continue their attempt to break away from the relegation places and the constant scrutiny that comes with it, and the next opponents to beat were derby rivals Union Titus Pétange.

Although Union were only formed in 2015 (with a merger of Titus Lamadelaine and CS Pétange), the two teams found themselves in the same division straight away, battling for promotion to the top division in 2015/16, giving way to a rivalry that has only escalated since.

One thing to notice about the derbies though, is Käerjéng’s relative lack of success in them. Although they beat UTP back-to-back in the Whites’ maiden season to nick top spot, they hadn’t even gotten a draw from the five matches the two teams have played out in the BGL Ligue ever since, heading into Sunday’s game.

The only surprising name on the team sheets was Artur Abreu, Union’s captain, who made his return to the team after a foot injury, sustained after a mistimed tackle from Wiltz player Cédric N’Guessan which left him sidelined for weeks.

Käerjéng had control of the game early on, building chances, mostly relying on set pieces and their defenders’ prowess to score from close-range headers. The plan looked to be working to the extent that the chances were created in abundance, but the end product was largely underwhelming.

The 0-0 half-time result implied we might be halfway to UNK’s first BGL Ligue point in their head-to-head history with Union, and the second half started with more of the same confidence and dominance from the Reds that we have become accustomed to in October, after an extremely rough and unsuccessful first seven gameweeks.

In the end, though, the deadlock soon broke and it wasn’t anyone from the home side that scored, but instead Abreu, who grabbed his fourth goal of the campaign and his fourth career goal against Käerjéng (the most in the history of the rivalry). It would be foolish to say that it finished off a masterfully constructed attack, either: centre-back Marian Sarr’s long ball behind the whole UNK defence found Abreu, who positioned himself perfectly and lobbed the goalkeeper on the volley – something no one on the pitch seemed to have expected.

A piece of individual brilliance from Abreu showed his importance to the team once again, and although he had to be substituted on 71 minutes for match sharpness-related reasons, the goal instilled belief in the Lions that the victory was now in their grasp. And they never let go of it either, producing several dangerous opportunities towards the end, which Käerjéng’s young goalkeeper, Noah Scheidweiler, did well to keep away from his goal.

However, the adept defending wasn’t enough to get a result on this day, as Käerjéng continue to occupy 15th place. The team above them, Racing Union, have more than double their five points, in 14th place. Meanwhile, Union are up in sixth place with their latest win, getting 12 points from the last 15 possible.

Are Rosport lacking a ‘winning spirit’? 

Victoria Rosport have been going through a transformation of sort in the past months. Manager Martin Forkel’s ability to incorporate every new signing to his team quite seamlessly is astounding, and if we take a look at the team’s signings over the past one year (since the German was appointed), the majority of signings were able to hit the ground running.

The arrival of Ernesto Carratala-Jiménez turned the team from relegation candidates to  asafe mid-table side, playing expansive, entertaining football. Jiménez replaced the departing Jordy Soladio perfectly, while winter arrival Oege-Sietse van Lingen complemented Jiménez’s skillset perfectly. The duo enjoyed a prolific spring in the BGL Ligue (Carratala-Jiménez: 11 goals, 8 assists; van Lingen: 7 goals, 5 assists), and whenever both of them were given a chance, the team produced the goals that propelled them to safety reliably.

This summer, the work continued. Van Lingen left after only six months to sign for heavyweights F91 Dudelange and fight for European football, while Rosport replaced him with a German creative force, André Redekop. The way he was poached from the mediocrity of the regional league system in his homeland shows an immense sense of talent from the scouts of the club, whose latest recruit is now challenging for the Luxembourgish Golden Boot. Seven goals in six games puts him in second place at the moment, behind only Benjamin Bresch of Marisca Mersch.

They have strengthened elsewhere across the pitch too. Ben Vogel returned from Progrès Niederkorn to help dictate the tempo in midfield, while Gonçalo Rodrigues has made his Luxembourg U21 debut since signing on a free in the summer from relegated Etzella Ettelbrück. The departing former Latvia youth international Dāvis Sprūds was replaced by his own brother Dans, who is only 19 and has just returned to the club after a spell in Germany.

However, if there is one thing missing from the team, it might just be that little bit of extra consistency that would win the must-win games and build a stable base on which to push for an upper-half position on the table come the end of the season.

Their latest 3-3 draw to Mondercange encapsulated this perfectly. Trailing 1-2 at half-time, Carratala-Jiménez stepped up to be the team’s hero and turned the game around in the last quarter of the game. Unluckily for Rosport, though, a sucker punch came in the fourth minute of added time, when Oguzhan Kaylesiz found the net for Mondercange.

It cannot be said that Rosport ceded control of the game. They remained dominant, they scored goals against this FCM side (although that’s more often the case than not, given Mondercange’s defensive woes), but fell at the last hurdle when a win was within touching distance.

A win could have put Rosport level on points with 2023’s best team in the calendar year, Niederkorn. Instead, the two-point gap remains and Dudelange have also caught up to Victoria’s record – thanks partly to the attacking efforts of van Lingen, now at F91. Whether Forkel and Rosport can maintain this form remains to be seen, but if they have their eyes set on bigger goals than mid-table, then results in such winnable games have to follow along.

Around the pitches

Unbeaten leaders Differdange ran riot on Saturday evening, triumphantly picking apart Schifflange by a scoreline of 5-0. Kenny Nagera, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in August, already has six goals in five games after this weekend’s brace. Schifflange, meanwhile, have only won one of their last seven games (against rock-bottom Fola Esch), resulting in a slip from illustrious positions down to 13th, and the danger of relegation play-offs. A breath of fresh air to the league in August after being crowned second-division champions last year, their last two months have been looking like a total eclipse of their hopes.

Fola Esch travelled north to Wiltz to ultimately lose what played out to be arguably the dullest game of the weekend. Scattered by fouls, the game contained eight yellow cards and two red-card dismissals – Wiltz defender Kévin Malget was sent off after a straight red only 12 minutes in. Despite the numerical advantage, Fola barely looked like scoring. Wiltz striker Victor Gorny ended up scoring the only goal of the game, and the vital three points have guided his team as far as seventh place. Meanwhile, 2021 champions Fola Esch are bottom of the table, nine points from safety.

Marco Martino’s young Racing FCUL team held their own and showed great resilience to salvage a 3-3 draw from their game against Progrès Niederkorn at the Stade Achille Hammerel. Although they are still in 14th place, the team from the City showed that on their day, they are worthy opponents to everyone in the league.

Elsewhere, Hesper are back on winning ways after a calm 2-0 victory in Mondorf-les-Bains, while Dudelange also beat Marisca Mersch 1-0 in an epic battle.

As always, the games’ live commentaries, highlights and full video footage are all available on RTL.lu’s Live Arena hub.

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