Lions earn 2-2 draw in Belgrade

Maher Carrizo's second-half strike earned F.C. Copenhagen a deserved 2-2 draw in Belgrade.

Bo Svensson's players had taken the lead via Matej Gashtarov's own goal on 29 minutes, before hosts Crvena Zvezda flipped the tie with two goals before the break.

Carrizo popped up with the leveller with 20 minutes remaining with a drive from outside the box.

And while it was an excellent result at one of the toughest away trips in the UEFA Conference League, head coach Svensson wasn't wholly satisfied.

"It was a tough match for us, and we should be happy with the single point," said Svensson afterwards. "Delaney had a great chance with a header right at the end, but had we won, taking all three points home would probably have been a bit of a 'steal'.

"We actually started okay, but we had some issues with our defensive structure when in possession – we were too open and disorganised. They hit the crossbar, but otherwise, we did reasonably well during the first half-hour, even though we lacked intensity.

"We lost our composure a bit when they equalised on a counter-attack, and then they scored a really fine goal to make it 2-1. It was both frustrating and unnecessary – while the finishes were excellent, we also conceded goals that were a bit too easy to give away. And, as mentioned, there had been warning signs leading up to it."

Svensson felt that his Copenhagen side, in particular, lacked dynamism and intensity in their play.

"We were too open, considering we were playing an away match in Europe, especially in the first half," he said. "We lacked dynamism; our movement was too slow, and our actions lacked power. Furthermore, we only won 35 percent of our duels in the first half, so we couldn't really expect things to look very good out on the pitch.

"We improved slightly in the second half and became more compact, but it still wasn't a great performance from us. We faced a decent side, but they weren't so good that we shouldn't have been able to perform better than we did today."

Praise for Carrizo and Németh
Svensson highlighted Carrizo, among others, for his part in the display. Carrizo was given a start, played a key role in the attack, and scored the goal that secured a point for the team.

"Carrizo hasn't had an easy time since joining the club, but I thought he played a good match today, producing several quality moments," he said. "He was arguably our most dangerous attacking player; it was great – both for him and for us – to see him get going and contribute to securing an important point.

"It’s also vital that he can provide an attacking threat, especially now that Maseko is injured."

Hunor Németh was given a starting spot in a challenging away match. While there were both good and not-so-good moments, the head coach was pleased with the youngster's effort.

"Hunor brought plenty of determination and energy, and he fought hard – just as we’ve come to expect from him," he said. "There were both positives and negatives in his performance, but that’s completely normal for young players at this stage of their development.

"If they don't get the chance, they can't develop either, and we need to have patience with that."

Rodrigo Huescas was also back in the starting lineup following his long injury layoff.

"Naturally, Rodrigo lacked some match rhythm," the head coach added. "But it was good that he got 60 minutes under his belt in his first start since his long absence."

Four points is a solid result
All in all, Svensson was more satisfied with the result than with the performance in Belgrade and heads home pleased with having secured four points from the first two matches of the league phase.

"Looking at the first two games against Braga and Crvena Zvezda, four points is definitely a solid result," he said.

"We put in a very good performance against Braga. Yoday was more of a struggle, but we still managed to bring home an important point."