Five things we learnt from Matchday 1

Due to the volatile nature of a semi-professional football environment – shorter contracts, work commitments, abrupt departures and unexpected arrivals – surprises come all too often to be able to draw big conclusions from each team’s summer preparations and early-season results. Many of the signings come from under the radar, while teams often pick up form during the season, propelling them up the table after a sub-par start.
 
However, the first 90 minutes are always a special occasion for every fan interested in following the league across the season. The first line-ups, the new managers, a new class of youngsters playing at the elite as the teams run out on the field for the first time after months of hiatus.
 
Some supporters could be assured by their team’s performance last weekend, while others may fear for a long ten months ahead, until the season concludes in late May. 

Hesperange can field a team

Fans of 2022/23’s Luxembourgish champions can perhaps relate to both of the brackets mentioned above. Late payments, a revoked UEFA license and the withdrawal of all investment from Flavio Becca created the perfect storm for the Holleschbierg side heading into the year.
 
Last season’s caretaker manager Hakim Menai has been given the job on a permanent basis to ensure some continuity, but the majority of the playing squad departed, with several considering legal action against the board for their withheld salaries.
 
Hesper started the fiscal year with a transfer embargo hanging over their head, which was successfully overturned on 14 July – a crucial step to ensure they had a chance to sign enough senior players to field a team when Union Titus Pétange came to house in August. 
 
In the end, they managed to expand their squad in quantity, but question marks remained on the quality front. Most of the arrivals came from abroad, with little to no experience playing at this level.
 
In light of the above, their 0-0 draw against Pétange at the season-opener was a respectable result, and removed many of the early fears among staff and supporters alike, for a team with little prospect of survival until their whirlwind transfer activity.

Pétange need time

Hesper’s first opponents had their fair share of turmoil before the season began, too. Having appointed Bulgarian Kiril Rachev to the first team manager role, the young trainer left the club without coaching a single competitive game at his latest destination, after an argument with the board spiralled out of control.
 
This left the southwestern outfit with another dilemma in an already tight financial situation, and transparency from majority investor Ado Kojo and his board of directors has been in short supply throughout the summer. Transfers were announced late or inaccurately, friendlies were mostly played behind closed doors, while the atmosphere inside the dressing room has been far from ideal.
 
Captain Wilson Kamavuaka posted a statement denouncing the club’s philosophy and ambition, and refusing to wear the armband for an indefinite period. This provided the perfect backdrop for the start of the championship, against another side going through a troubling period.
 
What we saw was two clubs in the middle of a process. Transfer dealings are still expected for UTP (they sold striker Oscar Faulds earlier this week), and hiring a first-team coach would be useful in the longer term, despite Kojo’s eagerness to jump in and take over the reins when necessary.
 
Wherever the end of the process leads is unknown, and we will know a lot more about UTP’s plans and resources once the international transfer window closes at the end of August. For now, this is very much a work in progress.

Double workload can prove costly

The four European representatives of Luxembourg started their pre-season training and warm-up matches a month earlier than the rest of the league, giving them a considerable head start to reach peak fitness and accommodate new signings.
 
This, in theory, should provide a boost to these teams’ chances of starting their campaigns positively, especially considering that these sides occupied the top four spots on the league table last year.
 
What unfolded was almost the opposite: Racing Union only achieved a disappointing draw against Rodange 91, Differdange struggled to break down newcomers Atert Bissen, UNA Strassen still looked fatigued from their recent Conference League involvement against Dundee United, while F91 Dudelange produced the same defensive errors that cost them against Atlétic Escaldes last month.
 
The scorelines reflected the superiority of the top teams, with all but Racing emerging victorious, but the warning signs about two-game weeks could not be ignored.
 
FC Differdange remain the only Luxembourgish team on the European stage, two ties away from making the Conference League’s group stage, and therefore extending their international duties until December.
 
This poses a challenge for the defending champions, for a number of reasons. Their squad has clearly been built to compete domestically, without the added task of managing six match-ups, including three potentially costly away trips, while staying in shape for the weekends in order to claim a European spot for next season, too.
 
The understanding among FCD’s board seems to be that the current roster cannot reasonably be expected to shine in the Conference League. Reaching the group stage would still be financially beneficial for the club, though, and thus remains their top priority instead of silverware in Luxembourg.
 
They have recently announced the signing of Ronaldo Camará from Germany, and more additions can be expected as the club successfully navigates the qualifying rounds in Europe. Depending on whether they advance against Levadia Tallinn next week, more business might be needed to ensure they retain the edge over their main competitors in the Grand Duchy.
 
As for Strassen, Racing and F91, shaky starts are still acceptable as long as they can catch up with the rest of the league within a few weeks and return to competing for the podium. If any of them retain title ambitions, though, starting strong is a non-negotiable given FCD’s foreseeable struggles in the first half of the campaign.

Rosport regains attacking edge against toothless Hostert

Two lower-half teams played one of the most-anticipated games of the first matchday, when US Hostert hosted Victoria Rosport on Sunday afternoon. Having comfortably survived over the past few years, Rosport had a somewhat disappointing season last time around, recording the third-lowest goal tally.
 
Hostert, on the other hand, impressed everyone with a strong mid-table showing upon getting promoted via play-offs the year before. Their star player and top scorer, Kenan Avdusinović, moved on to Progres Niederkorn after a lengthy transfer saga, leaving a sizeable hole in Hostert’s attacking structure.
 
Marc Thomé’s team tried to replace Avdusinović’s goal tally and creative outlet by spreading the goalscoring burden among several new signings. Defensive reinforcements arrived too, as they shipped in a dismal 69 goals in 30 matches (2.3 per 90 minutes). Improvement was needed in front of both goals.
 
Pre-season friendlies left a lot of reasons for optimism as Hostert coasted to victory after victory, producing the same attacking numbers as they did last season, without a major dip in their defensive efforts despite losing goalkeeper Dorian Chiotti.
 
But there is a reason why friendly results are never considered too reflective of a team’s true ability. Rosport, on a shoestring budget and with the smallest squad in the division, wiped the floor with USH on the opening day, achieving a 4-1 victory away from home. New signing Frederick Kyereh took only five minutes to score his first goal since returning to the top flight. Johannes Steinbach was at his creative best, chipping in with two assists and a converted penalty.
 
Hostert’s renewed defence, with 20-year-old Mylan Yans and 19-year-old loanee Bryan Almeida Borges, hasn't gelled together quite yet. They seemed to weather the storm during all the rehearsals, but came painfully short when thrust into the spotlight.

Chaotic football can be fun

F91 Dudelange and Progres Niederkorn played the very first game of 2025/26, stepping out on the field for the only Saturday kick-off last week.
 
It happened to be the most action-packed event of the weekend, with the first seven minutes yielding two goals, and the final scoreline ending up at 4-3.
 
Dudelange showed substantial mental strength to stand up from a losing position in the second half, and proved many doubters wrong who had feared for them after their surprise elimination in Europe.
 
Despite operating on a much lower budget than in seasons past, F91 seem to be on the right path overall, with their new players getting to grips with the changed goals and perspectives in the institution. Their older stalwarts are still capable of leading the team to success, as demonstrated by flying wing-back Mehdi Kirch’s late decider.
 
Niederkorn have made adjustments to their own squad over the summer, having narrowly missed out on European football in 2024. The current roster aims to focus on young, developing Luxembourgers from within the league, bolstered by a few meaningful additions from abroad, such as the two returnees, Bilal Hend and Alex Guett Guett.
 
The real headliner, though, was arguably Olivier Thill: the virtuoso Luxembourg midfielder left Ukrainian top-tier LNZ Cherkasy to return to the venue of his former glories, where he was immediately made captain.
 
He scored the first goal of the 2025/26 BGL Ligue season too, after nodding home an Omar Natami corner barely six minutes into the game. He repeated the trick early in the second half from another Natami assist to spearhead his team’s newfound ambitions and show his immense quality at this level.
 
For all his efforts, his team suffered a narrow defeat due to their shaky defending. Goalkeeper Sébastien Flauss failed to control a simple backpass from Guett Guett on one occasion, gifting his opponents an easy goal on the brink of half-time.
 
Both managers could look at the size of the task facing them for 2025/26. With reduced budgets comes reduced quality. Firing attacks can definitely help, but much-needed defensive discipline and organisation have to be at the forefront of all coaches at the two powerhouses.
 
In the meantime, fans can learn to embrace the chaos.