Football: Winterthur creates tension in the relegation battle, Lausanne defeats Young Boys 3-2

(sda) Uli Forte proved to have the right instinct during the break. After his team had shown little attacking potential in the first 45 minutes, the Winterthur coach brought on Josias Lukembila in the second half. And the 25-year-old immediately repaid his trust: In the 47th minute, Lukembila scored his first goal of the season, giving the home team a crucial 1-0 lead.

This goal completely shifted the momentum. Just six minutes later, central defender Loïc Lüthi doubled the lead to 2-0, setting off a storm of jubilation in the sold-out Schützenwiese.

On the other side, Grasshoppers were completely stunned. In the first half, Zurich had come closer to taking the lead. After just over half an hour, the ball even found its way into Winterthur's net, but Pascal Schürpf's header was ruled out for offside. A few minutes later, Schürpf scored again, this time from a clear offside position.

Luck wasn't on the visitors' side in the second half either. The referee awarded a penalty to GC in the 58th minute, but reversed the decision after VAR intervention. By then, the will of coach Tomas Oral's team seemed to have broken.

With Winterthur's victory, the relegation battle in the Super League is definitely wide open again. Although Winterthur, who have collected 13 out of a possible 15 points in the last five rounds, remain in last place due to goal difference, they are level on points with GC and Yverdon, who play on Sunday. Sion, who are only three points ahead of the trio, are also under pressure in their home game against Zurich on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Lausanne-Sport opened the championship group with a 3-2 home win against Young Boys. While the Vaud club announced European Cup ambitions, it was the next blow for the Bernese.

It was a clash between the teams that had been eliminated in the cup semifinals the previous weekend. The desire to redeem themselves was evident in both teams, who played offensively from the start.

Set pieces played an important role: Shortly before half-time, Noë Dussenne headed in the equaliser from a corner, and just a few minutes into the second half, Kaly Sène also headed in the hosts from a free kick.

Bern, who initially dominated the game and took the lead with a ninth goal from winter signing Christian Fassnacht, rarely threatened in the second 45 minutes. They appeared increasingly lacking in ideas in attack and vulnerable defensively. Tanguy Zoukrou's injury also contributed to this. Teddy Okou then made it 3-1 in the 72nd minute, sending Lausanne into celebration. Darian Males's goal gave the visitors some hope, but ultimately they had to return home empty-handed.

With this victory, the Vaudois team moves up to fifth place, at least until Sunday. Coach Ludovic Magnin's team, which only secured its place in the championship group in the last qualifying round, can now dream of a European Cup.

Meanwhile, champions YB see their season goals in jeopardy. Defending their title is looking increasingly unlikely, and Lausanne is now threatening from behind. Only three points separate the two teams.