Not in 38 years has a Swedish men's team been in the semifinal of a European club team tournament. And it was noticeable in the atmosphere.
There were packed stands at the 3 arena. And the Djurgarden fans offered a powerful atmosphere before, during, and after the historic European match, although the team lost.
It hurt to lose, but it's a damn experience for the team, says Adam Stahl after the defeat.
Now a smaller miracle is required for Djurgarden to advance to the final.
You have to be honest and say it's going to be really damn tough. Jani has to come up with some nice match plan that we can polish, and then it's just a matter of running, continues the full-back.
Invited to dance
Djurgarden was anything but scared initially, despite the guests setting up with a strong team consisting of, among others, the English national team player Reece James and the 2022 World Championship winner, Enzo Fernández, who during the same championship was named the tournament's best U21 player.
During the first ten minutes, driven by a sound wave that made it difficult to hear one's own thoughts, it was the home team that led and pressed.
But shortly after, "reality" caught up.
Jadon Sancho gave the guests the lead in the 13th minute. Thereafter, the London team – whose player squad is valued at almost 44 times as much as Djurgarden's – took over more and more. And when 0–2 came from Noni Madueke before halftime, most could conclude that there wouldn't be a miracle this time.
The 18-year-old's first senior goal
It didn't get any easier when coach Enzo Maresca substituted in several of the match on the bench at halftime. Among them Cole Palmer, who is one of the world's best players.
But Djurgarden didn't give up. Despite Chelsea expanding their lead both once and twice in the second half, the home fans would get to cheer.
In the 68th minute, 18-year-old Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta reached the highest and scored his first goal in his senior career when he reduced to 1–4.
A feeling that the Chelsea supporter will not soon forget.
There and then it felt a bit unreal, you get stuck in a bubble. When you get into the locker room afterwards, you start to really feel that you've scored a goal, says the 18-year-old.
