Liberec
Commentary
At the beginning of the match, Slovan started more cautiously and tried to concentrate more on defence. Patience paid off, as Hybs sent an arch to Malinsky, who overcame the defending player and advanced into the are. He waited for the right moment and presented the ball to Radim Breite, who was all alone and basically hit the empty goal. A short time later, Potočný missed a header from a sharp angle. Zlín were scrambling in the first 20 minutes and had problems with Liberec’s quick attacks.
In the 22nd minute, coach Hoftych’s team rejoiced again. As he did with the first goal, Malinský again started the play and this time set up Petar Musa, who placed the ball between the goalkeeper and the back bar to make it 2-0. Six minutes later, after a foul on Breite, Karafiat shot from a respectable distance, Rakovan just shot his attempt ahead. However, Breite's ball was tangled between his legs. In the 38th minute, Malinský sent another beautiful pass, this time finding Roman Potočný, whose one-timer rippled the mesh.
At the end of the first half, Zlín also showed some offence for the first time. At the other end, an attempt by active Breite set Rakovan on the corner. Liberec went to the dressing room with a good feeling after building a 3-0 lead. Tomáš Malinský, who assisted on all three goals, had the lion's share of the half-time stats.Slovan followed the performance from the first half, and Roman Potočný scored on the first rush. He received a pass from Musa and kicked the ball past Rakovan. Another important moment came in the 52nd minute, as Nguyen's long pass was received by Musa but was subsequently brought down by Podio. As this foul denied a great scoring chance, the referee did not hesitate to show the red card. Slovan developed another chance, but Potočný just missed, and then Hybš shot weakly.
The 76th minute brought two big chances. First, Hybš shot after a bounced ball kicked just before the goal line one of the defenders Fastavu. Kuchta had a second opportunity after Mikula's recording, but he failed to beat Rakovan. Two minutes later, Pešek went in alone on the Zlín keeper but he too was denied.
After 82 minutes, Jakub Pešek missed a great opportunity for Bucha to kick the ball. The pressure from Liberec didn't stop after that, but a shot by Mara from the line was just pulled to the corner. Kuchta failed to finish on a 3-on-1 break, ending up alone and missing the goal. Two minutes before the end, Breite was still running the ball in front of Rakovan, who stopped another goal with his face. Slovan clearly defeated Zlín and fully deserved to celebrate a great 5-0 win!
