At La Maladière, FC Sion could do no better than draw with Xamax on Friday. The two sides played out a 0-0 draw. FC Sion will not have won for the 8th time in 2024, but they are still unbeaten!

The facts

It took a while for the first chances of the game to come. The Neuchâtel side were highly organised and hard-working in one-on-one situations, and they made life difficult for FC Sion, who created just two chances in the first half thanks to strikes from Berdayes and Bouchlarhem. It was not until the half-hour mark that the first two corners of the game were scored.

In the second half, Xamax looked dangerous and could have taken the lead through Ramizi's 52nd-minute strike. However, the hard-working Sédunois clenched their teeth and stuck together. Despite their less-than-stellar technical ability, Didier Tholot's men managed to "keep their heads" and take home a point from their trip to Neuchâtel.

Reactions 

Didier Tholot, FC SIon coach

"We were tired today. We were below our best individually and collectively.

"Not losing is part of the job when you're not as good and you're not playing as well. We were good in spirit.

"The positive is that even when we weren't as good, we didn't fall apart and we kept going."

"We're perhaps paying today for the fact that we had a big week with a match on Thursday and last Sunday.

"There's not just the Thun game in our sights. There are eleven games left. We're getting closer to the end and the games are going to get tougher and tougher.

The line-ups

Neuchâtel Xamax - FC Sion 0-0 (0-0)
Neuchâtel, Stade de la Maladière, 5927 spectators
Referees: Huwiler; Müller, Jancevski; Prskalo.
Goals scored:
Warnings: 70' Schmied, 82' Hajrovic, 87' Fatkic
Neuchâtel Xamax: Guivarch; Athekame, Soro, Abedini, Hajrovic, Balaruban (73' Nsakala); Ramizi (84' Schwizer), Fatkic, Saiz (88' Hammerich); Bakayoko, Hautier (73' Rapp).
FC Sion: Fayulu; Lavanchy, Schmied, Ziegler, Hefti; Baltazar, Kabacalman; Berdayes (79' Souza), Chouaref (72' Diouf), Bouchlarhem (79' Chipperfield); Sorgic (88' Rusev).
Notes: Sion without Itaitinga and Bua (injured). Xamax without Epitaux, Moulin, Ouattara and Roth (injured).
Corners: 4-4 (1-1)

What happened next

Before the international break, FC Sion welcome FC Thun to Tourbillon next Friday for the Challenge League's top-of-the-table clash.

#AllezSion #TousEnsemble