Goals from Renato Steffen in the first half and Daniel Dos Santos in the second half, with Florent Mollet responding in the final minutes, sealed FC Lugano's return to winning ways after four consecutive draws. In front of 3,062 spectators at Cornaredo, the Bianconeri beat Lausanne 2-1 (1-0).
TWO STRIKERS FROM THE START
To compensate for the absence of Kevin Behrens due to injury, coach Mattia Croci-Torti opted for a starting formation with two strikers. Georgios Koutsias was supported by captain Renato Steffen. Anto Grgić played in midfield, flanked by Daniel Dos Santos and Uran Bislimi, with Yanis Cimignani and Mattia Zanotti on the respective wings. In front of Amir Saipi, the three-man defence consisted of Lukas Mai, Damian Kelvin and Antonios Papadopoulos.
PATIENCE BEFORE THE LEAD
After a fairly balanced start to the match, the Vaudois - fresh from Thursday's European match in the Czech Republic - gave the Bianconeri their first scare with a tricky corner from Florent Mollet, which Saipi was ready for, clearing with his hand. A few errors in succession in the build-up then led to Seydou Traoré attempting a simple shot that was easily saved by the home goalkeeper.
At the other end, a diagonal strike from Grgić set up Cimignani, whose cross was deflected for a corner by the Romands. In the 18th minute, following the corner, the French winger, served by Bislimi, charged with his left foot and forced Letica into his first important save of the match. The 24-year-old tried again, but his header from Steffen's free kick went high.
Just after the half-hour mark, Bislimi tried to make his mark. His shot from 20 metres was saved with some difficulty by Letica. This was a preview of what happened in the 36th minute, when Grgić sent a cross to Steffen, who connected perfectly and broke the deadlock with a diagonal shot. The score remained unchanged until Urs Schnyder blew the whistle for half-time.
FIRST THE NERVES, THEN RELIEF AND FINALLY MORE THRILLS
After the break, former player Olivier Custodio replaced Jamie Roche. The Ticino side kept their players unchanged and struggled to get out of their own half in the opening minutes. The Swiss-French side's liveliness took the home fans by surprise, who watched two ambitious attempts by Gaoussou Diakité. In the 55th minute, Peter Zeidler's team equalised through Traoré (with a decisive deflection from Kelvin), but the goal was disallowed after a brief VAR review because the visiting striker was offside before shooting.
From the thrill of the equaliser to the second goal, it was a short distance. Just after the hour mark, Dos Santos took possession of the ball and passed to Steffen who, after entering the area, passed back to his teammate, who controlled the ball and, with a masterful feint, made it 2-0 with a penalty in motion, wrong-footing Letica. If the result remained unchanged, it was because Saipi was alert to a curling shot from the right by the newly entered Omar Janneh.
Video assistance came to the Bianconeri's rescue a quarter of an hour before the 90th minute, recognising a previous foul on Steffen instead of awarding a penalty to the Romands. With a left-footed volley of rare precision from Florent Mollet, assisted on the other side of the area by Omar Janneh, they came back into the game in style in the 80th minute. Despite a tense finish, the Bianconeri kept their nerve and secured a comprehensive victory, their first in four games.
THIRD PLACE CONSOLIDATED, NEXT APPOINTMENT AT LETZIGRUND
Thanks to the three points earned, Mattia Croci-Torti's team has now gone twelve games unbeaten. The move to 46 points allows them to remain firmly in third place, closing in on St. Gallen, now just one point ahead. With renewed confidence in their abilities, they will travel to the Letzigrund in Zurich, where the match against Grasshopper is scheduled for Sunday 1 March 2026 at 16:30.
MATCH REPORT
Super League, Matchday 26
Cornaredo Stadium - 3,062 spectators
FC LUGANO - FC LAUSANNE-SPORT 2:1 (1:0)
GOALS: 36' Steffen 1:0, 61' Dos Santos 2:0, 80' Mollet 2:1.
FC LUGANO (3-5-2): Saipi; Papadopoulos, Kelvin, Mai (71' Carbone); Zanotti (81' Brault-Guillard), Dos Santos (71' Belhadj), Grgić, Bislimi, Cimignani (86' Alioski); Steffen (81' Bottani), Koutsias.
Substitutes: von Ballmoos, Kendouci, Mahou, Pihlström.
Coach: Mattia Croci-Torti.
FC LAUSANNE-SPORT (4-1-2-1-2): Letica; Bergvall (64' Koné), Mouanga, Sow, Poaty; Roche (46' Custodio); Soppy, Mollet; Lekoueiry (64' Kana Biyik); Traoré (64' Janneh), Diakité (80' Ajdini).
Substitutes: Castella, Butler-Oyedeji, Lippo, Fofana.
Coach: Peter Zeidler.
REFEREE: Urs Schnyder.
ASSISTANTS: Marco Zürcher and Livio Aschwanden.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Désirée Blanco.
VAR: Johannes von Mandach.
AVAR: Déborah Anex.
BOOKINGS: 49' Mai, 62' Dos Santos, 87' Alioski, 90' +2' Grgić.