THE SAVED
PENALTY From the outset, Lugano showed character and solidity, creating a dangerous opportunity in the 7th minute with a powerful right-footed shot from Mahou that was providentially blocked by a defender. After a quarter of an hour of Lugano control, Basel reacted with two chances: first, Papadopoulos made a sliding save on Broschinski, and then Saipi made an instinctive deflection, which he repeated a minute later on Rüegg's shot from outside the box.
In the 25th minute, the first key moment: a penalty was awarded to the home side for a handball by Bislimi. Shaqiri took the penalty, angling it to the right, but Saipi guessed correctly and saved it, keeping the score level. Basel had another double chance on the rebound, but first Zanotti and then the Bianconeri goalkeeper made heroic saves. Lugano's response was not long in coming: in the 31st minute, Papadopoulos came close to taking the lead with a deflection that went just wide, while a few minutes later Mahou and then Dos Santos tried in vain to surprise Hitz with two shots from the edge of the box.
THE WINNING GOAL
The second half began with Lugano even more determined. In the 51st minute, Dos Santos tried a curling shot from the edge of the box, but Hitz made a great save, and a few minutes later, the same goalkeeper was called upon to make another save on Mahou's close-range shot. The clearest chance came in the 56th minute: Marques' pinpoint pass found Dos Santos, who found himself one-on-one with Hitz but failed to beat him.
However, the reward came in the 62nd minute: a Bianconeri counterattack followed an opponent's corner, with Cimignani launching Dos Santos. The number 27 ran the length of the pitch and served Behrens, who slid in to finish the move at the far post and make it 0-1.
Basel tried to react, but the Lugano defence held firm. Only in the 91st minute did Ajeti have a good chance to score, but his shot went high. Lugano did not sit back and almost doubled their lead on the counterattack with Koutsias, who was stopped by a defender.
After seven minutes of added time, referee Schnyder blew the final whistle: Lugano earned three crucial points, moving to within three points of second-placed Basel (with a game in hand) and ending the first part of November in the best possible way. Now the championship takes a break for international fixtures: on their return, FC Lugano will face another tough test against leaders Thun on Saturday 22 November.
MATCH STATISTICS
BASEL – FC LUGANO 0-1
Brack Super League – Matchday 13
9 November 2025 – St. Jakob-Park
Spectators: 27,676
Goalscorers: 62' Behrens
BASEL (4-2-3-1): Hitz; Rüegg (56' Vouilloz), Daniliuc, Barišić (83' Junior Zé), Schmid; Leroy, Metinho; Traoré (76' Soficek), Shaqiri, Otele (46' Salah); Broschinski (56' Ajeti).
Substitutes: Salvi, Bacanin, Cissé, Adjetey.
Manager: Ludovic Magnin.
FC LUGANO (4-2-3-1): Saipi; Zanotti (83' Brault-Guillard), Papadopoulos, Mai, Marques; Grgić, Bislimi; Cimignani (83' El Wafi), Dos Santos (75' Cassano), Mahou (66' Belhadj); Behrens (75' Koutsias).
Substitutes: Mina, Doumbia, Pihlström, Duville-Parsemain.
Coach: Mattia Croci-Torti.
Referee: Urs Schnyder.
Assistants: Benjamin Zürcher, Marco Zürcher.
Fourth official: Hajrim Qovannaj.
VAR/AVAR: Mirel Turkes, Marijan Drmic.
Bookings: Papadopoulos (LUG), Metinho (BAS), Saipi (LUG), El Wafi (LUG)