Facts: The Allsvenskan restart
The Allsvenskan restarts after the summer break. Here are the matches of the round:
Saturday: BP–AIK 0–2, Degerfors–Värnamo 0–2, Malmö FF–Sirius 3–0.
Sunday: IFK Norrköping–Häcken, Halmstad–IFK Gothenburg (both at 3 p.m.), Djurgården–Varberg (5.30 p.m.).
Monday: Elfsborg–Hammarby, Mjällby–Kalmar (both 19.00).
Malmö FF striker Isaac Kiese Thelin started the season brilliantly with goals in every Allsvenskan match – a total of eight goals in the opening five rounds.
Then the goal drought hit. The 31-year-old went scoreless in five straight games before missing the league leaders’ last two rounds before the break due to a groin injury.
In the restart at home against Sirius, the striker was back in the starting eleven – and immediately back on the scoresheet.
As early as the fifth minute, Kiese Thelin was able to push in the lead goal into an empty net after Gabriel Busanello hit a brilliant cross from the left wing.
“Tough first half”
MFF had a few more sharp scoring chances in the first half. Sirius, who ended the spring with three straight victories, stepped up a few times on the counterattack, but it was the home team that dominated.
— We have to work a lot on defense and run on counterattacks. A tough first half, says Sirius Joakim Persson to Discovery+ during the break.
It didn’t get any easier at the beginning of the second half. Already after 47 seconds, Kiese Thelin was brought down in the penalty area and referee Victor Wolf pointed to the penalty spot. Sirius defender Patrick Nwadike picked up his second yellow card and was sent off.
Kiese Thelin took care of the penalty himself. With determination, he sent in his tenth goal of the season behind a chanceless Jacob Tånnander in the away goal.
Before the match, MFF coach Henrik Rydström had problems with how he would shape his central midfield with both Anders Christiansen (heart problem) and Hugo Larsson (sold) gone. In addition, Stefano Vecchia is out for at least a month (throat infection).
Nanasi’s eighth goal
Against Sirius, Oscar Lewicki – like Moustafa Zeidan – had to play his first Allsvenskan match this year from the start and Sebastian Nanasi had to take care of the offensive midfield role. Nanasi is MFF’s leading scorer this season and had a couple of sharp scoring chances in the first act.
Directly in the second half, the 21-year-old stepped out to the left because Søren Rieks was replaced. From that edge, Nanasi broke in and placed in the 55th minute in 3-0 behind Tånander. The goal was his eighth of the season and Nanasi has a total of eleven points.
The match was decided and MFF is still in the league lead ahead of runner-up Elfsborg. Sirius is twelve – four points ahead of AIK in the qualifying spot.