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Sunday, September 2, 2012

FC Basel 0-0 FC Zurich

Streller was one of the only ones on frame for Basel
blick.ch

FC Basel played out a goalless fixture against their rivals FC Zurich in St. Jakob Park

Neither side were able to develop any hugely threatening chances in the first half. Marco Streller made some good attacks for FC Basel but his efforts were snuffed out by the Zurich defense. On the other side of the pitch, Loris Benito broke through the Basel defense but was yellow carded when he tried to sell a light tackle from the Basel defense to the referee. Oliver Buff was taken off for FC Zurich as a caution when he clashed heads with FC Basel's Adilson Cabral early on in the game. He didn't appear to be in any sort of distress but no risks are taken when there is a chance of head injuries. Aside from a few breakthroughs, neither side were able to work the ball into the attacking third. The defensive midfield units for both teams did their jobs efficiently and both teams settled on building from the back due to the strong back lines they were up against. At the conclusion of the first half, Basel had looked to be the dominant side but were unable to show that on the scoreline.
Much like the first half, the second half was another dominant performance from Basel in terms of possession but they were still not able to finish. They created more chances inside the 18 yard box than they did in the first half and Streller forced a strong save from the FC Zurich goalkeeper in the 65th minute but his attempt was one of the first ones to force Da Costa off his line and into action. Sommer had a reasonably quiet evening between the posts as well.
The Axpo Super League will now break for international action which will give the teams a chance to regroup. Swiss Cup is the first fixture after the break but Super League will resume after the World Cup qualifiers and Swiss Cup action.

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