SK Sturm's journey in the Conference League continues and Cross takes the team to France, more precisely the North of France. Christian Ilzer's team meets OSC Lille. That was the result of Friday's draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. As a rookie from the second round, Sturm will play the first leg at home on March 7, and the second leg against the group winners of the Conference League on March 14. Sturm Sport managing director Andreas Schicker confirmed that the home game will be played in Cross and not at the alternative stadium in Klagenfurt.
Armenian Michael Der Zakarian's side are fourth in Ligue 1 after 22 rounds and are unbeaten in the French Conference League this season.
A tough opponent with a great striker
“We face our good opponents with Lille, they won the conference league group comfortably, Bratislava finished second. Not only do they have high-quality players in the rankings, they are also a good team physically. The truth is that we can play in Cross on March 7. Lille is a tough opponent. Always. “We will prepare well,” says sporting director Andreas Schicker.
Along with Jonathan David, the 2021 French champions are top scorers in international standards. The 24-year-old Canadian has already scored 16 goals in 31 appearances this season. Two years ago, Lille faced Salzburg in the Champions League group stage. Lille won their home game against the domestic league champions 1–0, but lost 2–1 at Salzburg.
Reaching the quarter-finals earns a bonus of one million euros. So far, the cross have earned around seven million euros in the current European Cup season, having finished third in the Europa League group stage.
The duels were also drawn in the Europa League
Freiburg went into the Europa League thanks to Michal Grigorić's golden goal after a “game for eternity”. The ÖFB team striker sent the German Bundesliga club into the round of 16 with a 3-2 extra-time goal against Lens on Thursday. There Breiskaier lost last season against Juventus Turin (0:1, 0:2). This time it was West Ham United's draw at the Neon on Friday.
This results in a new version of the fight, with Freiburg losing 1:2 and 0:2 in the group stage. In the first leg, Freiburg will have home advantage on March 7, with the return leg following a week later. Grigoritch had previously stated that all opponents were “cold”. The objective is clear. “The important thing for me is that I'm not playing in the Europa League so I can experience something, but rather I want to progress,” said the 29-year-old Styrian. But this should not be interpreted as a declaration of war.
