Sports Weekend
A look at upcoming sporting events
Florin Orban, 31.01.2025, 13:45
The Romanian football club FCSB finished in 11th place the main group phase of Europa League. Given that 36 teams participated in this phase of the competition, the place held by the Romanian champions in the end is commendable and guarantees FCSB a spot in the playoffs. In the last group fixture, coach Elias Charalambous’s trainees were defeated 2-0 on Thursday, in Bucharest, by the English side Manchester United. The Romanian team had a good first half, even having a great opportunity to score on minute 10, wasted by Mihai Popescu. In the second half of the game, Manchester took the lead with goals scored by Diogo Dalot, on minute 60, and Kobbie Mainoo, eight minutes later. FCSB remains on a positive path, having recorded four wins, two draws and two losses. In the final standings, FCSB is ranked better compared to many top teams in Europe such as Ajax, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray or Porto.
This weekend, FCSB has another tough match, this time in the Romanian Super League. On Sunday, on National Arena stadium in the capital-city, the Bucharest club will face CFR Cluj. Right now, FCSB is in second place in the league tables, tied on points with the team in first place, Universitatea Cluj. CFR is only two points behind the defending champions, in third place.
Let us further note the other games scheduled for the 24th round of the Romanian foobtall super league. On Friday, FC Hermannstadt plays against UTA Arad, while Unirea Slobozia will take on Dinamo Bucharest. Three games are scheduled for Saturday. FC Botoşani, the team in last place in the standings, will play the visiting side Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, which is two points away from a playoff position. Then, in Galaţi, the local side Oţelul will take on Gloria Buzău, two teams fighting to avoid direct relegation to the second-tier division. Gloria is six points behind Oțelul right now. The evening will end with the game in Cluj, between Universitatea and Rapid Bucharest, a confrontation that is shaping up to be a great game. On Sunday, prior to the match pitting FCSB against CFR, Universitatea Craiova will play Politehnica Iași at home, a match with the home side dubbed as favorites. The last match of the round is scheduled for Monday, when Farul Constanța is playing Petrolul Ploiești. (VP)
