Following Thursday’s 3-0 victory in Győr, our men’s football team - currently in the Europa League group stage - hosted Újpest FC on Sunday in Matchday 7 of the OTP Bank Liga. Head coach Balázs Borbély made changes to the defense compared to the starting lineup that defeated ETO FC; this time, Fradi started without Olivér Nagy in the following formation: Dibusz - Osváth, Raemaekers, Gómez, Cadu – Á. Nagy, Corbu – Yusuf, Zachariassen, Arzani – Bagi. Before kickoff, the teams paid tribute to Győző Martos, a former player for the perennial champion Ferencvárosi Torna Club, who passed away on September 3.

First Half

Due to the 5:45 p.m. kickoff time, the match began partly in sunshine. The visitors’ goalkeeper, Péter Szappanos, was forced to make his first save in the 7th minute, when Kristoffer Zachariassen headed toward the goal from close range following a pass from Daniel Arzani. This was the very first chance, but the opposing goalkeeper made an easy save, just as he did in the 14th minute after a 15-meter lob by Attila Osváth.

In the 20th minute, the game was still wide open, yet the fans lit flares after Bamidele Yusuf headed the ball into the net -which had been cleared by Szappanos following a cross from Cadu - giving Ferencváros a 1-0 lead.

Even with the lead, our team remained on the attack; shortly afterward, Arzani dribbled his way into the penalty area and fired a low shot just wide. There were some nice moments.

As the game continued, Fradi seemed to ease off slightly, yet Újpest still posed little real threat to Dénes Dibusz’s goal: the visitors managed only a free kick that missed the target and a penalty-worthy situation that was not awarded after a video review. Things heated up toward the end of regulation time: first, in the 44th minute, Kristoffer Zachariassen headed the ball into the net off a cross from Osváth, extending the home team’s lead to 2–0; then, two minutes later, Patrizio Stronati scored off a corner kick, setting the halftime score at 2–1.

Second Half

During halftime, both Újpest and Fradi’s coach, Balázs Borbély, made a substitution: Krisztián Lisztes came on for Ádám Bagi on Fradi. Then, in the 56th minute, it was back to square one: after several rebounds, Aljosa Matko found the back of the net for the visitors, tying the score at 2-2. The goal was reviewed by the VAR system, but no foul was found.

Coach Borély made two more substitutions, bringing on Naby Keita for Ádám Nagy and Veljko Birmancsevics for Arzani. As the final twenty minutes approached, Fradi created more chances; for example, in the 76th minute, Lisztes shot wide off a cross from Zachariassen, and shortly afterward, Birmancsevics headed a cross from Osváth, but Szappanos made the save.

The Fradi players pushed forward in search of the win; in the first minute of stoppage time, Zachariassen missed the goal from five meters out on a golden opportunity, so we had to settle for one point that evening.

The final score was 2–2, so while we’ve remained undefeated in league derbies since 2016, we were unable to capitalize on the afternoon loss by league-leading Puskás Akadémia; we’re currently one point behind the Felcsút-based team.

Season tickets for our team’s home league matches are still available for purchase at meccsjegy.fradi.hu, in person, and at the Groupama Arena ticket offices (general hours: Mon–Fri: 2:00 PM–7:00 PM; Sat, Sun: closed)!