Gavriel Kanichowsky scoring a goal during the Ferencváros-Ludogorec match in the Groupama Arena
Ferencváros (FTC) won 3-1 against Bulgarian visitors Ludogorec in the fourth round of the Europa League group stage on Thursday evening. Head coach Robbie Keane’s unbeaten team now has ten points from four games and is in third place in the group stage, qualifying for the round of 16.
The Hungarian champions FTC’s goals were scored by Gavriel Kanichowsky, Cadu and Lenny Joseph, with the team dominating most of the match and giving their rivals few chances. According to Ferencváros midfielder Gavriel Kanichowsky, the team needs to keep its “feet on the ground” and continue what it started in the 2024/25 season of the Europa League. The Israeli footballer scored the first goal of the match with an acrobatic move, saying to M4 Sport: “The ball bounced to me and I had nothing else to do but shoot it in.”
“We played great in the first half, and although we fell back a little with a 2-0 lead, we finally managed to score the third goal, which sealed the match,” said Kanichowsky, who also talked about how he signed with Ferencváros to achieve such successes.
I believed in the team when I signed here, and this is what we set out to achieve. Now all we have to do is keep our feet on the ground and continue what we started,”
he said.
Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
Hungarian national team midfielder Alex Tóth replaced Naby Keita at halftime and, as he said after the match, he is gradually recovering from his previous injury and feeling better every day. “I do not think that was the plan beforehand, but during the break they told me to get ready. I think the coaching staff made that decision because Keita received a yellow card in the first half. The match went well, the opponent did not take many risks for the most part, and we were able to take advantage of that,” summarized the 20-year-old athlete.
The table looks good, I think every Hungarian agrees with that. We played well in this match too, we had a lot of chances, and we have to continue like this in the future,”
he added.
According to Gábor Szalai, FTC controlled the game overall, but there were periods when Ludogorec had the upper hand. “We went into every duel and fought for every ball as if it were ours alone. That was key. We all fought and pushed hard, and the fans created a great atmosphere. It is a great pleasure to play in matches like this,” said the defender.
FTC head coach Robbie Keane was proud of his players and believed that every single football player contributed to the 3-1 victory over Bulgarian side Ludogorec.
I can say that this was my best game so far in European competition as FTC coach,”
said the 45-year-old Irishman at a press conference after the match.
His colleague, Ludogorec coach Todor Zsivondov, emphasized that Ferencváros is a very strong opponent and it is no coincidence that they are where they are in the table.
“Congratulations and I wish them every success in the future. Our plan was to take risks sooner or later during the match, which is why we pushed harder in attack for 15-20 minutes in the second half. However, I do not think we are ready to play like this from the first minute to the last. Ferencváros took advantage of the opportunities that arose, hence they did not surprise us, but what was unexpected was that our players made unforced errors,” said the Bulgarian coach, summarizing the match.
Ferencváros will be the guest of Turkish club Fenerbahce on November 27 in the fifth round of the 2024/25 season.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor