Future opponents of Vilnius „Žalgiris“ in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, „Malmo“ FF are intensively preparing for the upcoming match and played a friendly match against Liberec „Slovan“ club from Czech Republic. The victory with a result of 1:0 (1:0) was celebrated by the Lithuanians playing at home. However, they also received some bad news.
During the friendly match, Kari Arnason made his debut in the Malmo team, who recently joined the team. The defender, who formed a tandem with Rasmus Bengtsson in these matches, previously played in the English league and represented „Rotherham United“ club.
The experienced 32-year-old defender will not be able to represent his new team in the UEFA Champions League matches against the Vilnius team, as in Sweden the player transfer window opens only on July 15. The Swedes will also not be helped by the recently departed goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who joined PAOK (Greece) recently. The 25-year-old goalkeeper was the main goalkeeper of „Malmo“ FF in this and last season.
The only goal of the match from the penalty spot was scored by „Malmo“ FF captain and forward Markus Rosenberg, who converted a penalty earned by Jo Inge Berget. Despite the Czechs' efforts to equalize the score, none of their attacks posed a threat to the Malmo team's goal, and the match ended with a minimal 1:0 advantage for the hosts.
After the last defeat in the Swedish „Allsvenskan“ championship to „Norrkoping“ team (1:3), „Malmo“ FF head coach Age Hareide replaced even nine main players. According to him, the team did not play aggressively, paid more attention to defense, tried to take advantage of opponents' mistakes, and create opportunities for quick counterattacks.
„In the second half of the match, we started attacking more often, creating several good opportunities to score. We know that in the Champions League, it will be important to capitalize on opponents' mistakes and keep our goal „dry“. If we can do that, I believe we will win,“ - said A. Hareide.
The first clash between Lithuanian and Swedish champions will take place on July 15 in Sweden. The match at the „Swedbank Stadion“ arena will start at 20:00 Lithuanian time, and 1050 „Žalgiris“ fans will be able to watch it at the stadium.
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