The battle for the first trophy of the season has concluded in Romania. The match for the country's Super Cup featured two teams with the same name: Universitatea Cluj and Universitatea Craiova. The team from Craiova, the reigning champion and holder of the national cup, secured victory, completing a historic treble.
The role of Ukrainian legionnaires in the victory
The winning squad includes two representatives of Ukrainian football. Goalkeeper Pavlo Isenko did not participate in the match due to injury, however, defender Oleksandr Romanchuk played the full 90 minutes. He solidly strengthened Craiova's defense, preventing the opponent from imposing their game.
The drama of the penalty shootout
The regular time of the principled derby ended in a hard-fought 1-1 draw. The decisive factor was the tense series of penalty kicks. The players from Craiova demonstrated nerves of steel, converting all five attempts without giving the opposing goalkeeper a single chance.
The main anti-hero of the match for Universitatea Cluj was Ivorian legionnaire Issoufou Makalou. Unable to cope with the psychological pressure, he sent the ball well above the crossbar, sealing the final score at 5-3 in favor of the opponent.
Consequences for Europa League qualification
This result is unlikely to add confidence to the Cluj team ahead of their upcoming away match against Kyiv's Dynamo. The match will take place on Thursday, July 16, at 20:30 local time. We remind you that the first game between the rivals in the preliminary round of the Europa League qualification ended in a goalless draw.
The stakes for this match are extremely high: the winner of the confrontation will advance to the next round, where they will face Greek side PAOK. The loser will drop to the Conference League, where in the second qualifying round they will have to battle Norwegian team Brann.