Eliteserien Gameweek 1 - Review

Game of the Week - Aalesund v Molde

Last seasons champions met in Aalesund for gameweek one in 2020. OBOS Ligaen champions Aalesund hosting reigning Eliteserien champions Molde.

There were debuts on either side for exciting youngsters, Simen Bolkan Nordli for Aalsesund and also Ola Brynhildsen for Molde, two young players to look out for this season.

With 200 supporters allowed inside the stadium, it was a strange atmosphere, but they were treated to a really open game for almost all of the 90 minutes.

Eikrem scored the first goal in 2020

The first goal of Eliteserien 2020 was scored after 10 minutes in this game, as Magnus Wolf Eikrem gave Molde the lead. He picked up the ball 25 yards out and tried to play a one-two pass with Leke James. The return pass wasn't great, but Eikrem managed to get the ball back and skip passed a couple of challenge before firing low into the bottom left hand corner. It was 11 goals in 2019 for Eikrem, one of the stars of the league making his mark early on here.

Despite going behind, Aalesund showed a lot of character and quality to get themselves back in the contest. Niklas Castro was causing problems with his movement, and Haugen and Nordli were causing trouble too for what was a slightly makeshift Molde back line due to injuries.

Castro should have had his side level on the 25th minute, but he blazed his spot kick over the bar after his shot had been blocked by the hand of Leke James, earning the Molde striker a booking.

However it didn't take long for the equaliser, and it was an incredible strike by Nordli, seconds after the drinks break due to the heat.

Leke James played a poor pass inside his own half and Nordli strode onto the ball 45 yards out and smashed a curling shot over Linde in the Molde goal, who had been near the edge of his box. What a way to introduce yourself to the fans and the Eliteserien, already a goal of the season contender.

Aalesund continued to press, but they were dealt a huge blow right before the break. A corner from Eikrem ended up at Bjørnbak's feet, his shot was blocked, but Etzaz Hussain was on hand to fire home from 5 yards. There was a question of a foul from James in the build up, but Molde didn't care and went in ahead despite a poor first half display.

Molde came out the second half looking stronger, and indeed made it 1-3 when Leke James tapped home after Haugen had fired a shot come cross in from the left hand side. The initial cross had been poorly dealt with by Andreas Lie in the Aalesund goal, he will be disappointed with his contribution here.

James wasn't done there, but this time for the wrong reason. His eventful day coming to an end when he stretched for the ball and may, or may not, have caught Nordli. The referee saw it as a foul and promptly sent James off with his second yellow card.

This gave Aalesund 20 minutes to get back into the game, but they rarely threatened, and in the end it was Molde who made the points safe, Eirik Hestad firing home from 20 yards with his left foot. A real quality finish from the substitute just five minutes after joining the action.

Molde showed their quality in the end, and Aalesund will have to tighten up defensively. But they have quality up top, and there will be easier tasks to come in the future.

Aalesund 1 - 4 Molde
Man of the Match - Etzaz Hussain


Around the Grounds

Tuesday 16th June

Elsewhere on Tuesday evening, there were goalless draws between Rosenborg and Kristiansund in Trondheim, and also between Stabæk and Mjøndalen.

Last years second placed team, Bodø/Glimt got their campaign under way with a come from behind 4-2 win in Stavanger, against Viking. 

Fredrik Torsteinbo scored a header from a corner, before Ulrik Saltnes finished nicely after a Junker pass to equalise for Glimt.

Viking went back ahead when a beautifullly flicked finish from Even Østensen looped over Khaikin in the Glimt goal to give Viking the half time lead.

The second half was all about the team from Bodø. Firstly JP Hauge got a goal after a great display of pace and a cross to match from Philip Zinckernagel left him with a relatively easy finish.

Then it was Sondre Brunstad Fet on his Glimt debut, tapping in after great work from left full back Bjørkan, who slalomed his way in to the box and chipped over the keeper onto the crossbar.

The scoring was rounded off in the 80th minute as Philip Zinckernagel, who had been a threat throughout, was on the end of a loose ball in the box and calmly sidestepped a defender before firing home for a great comeback win, and evidence that Glimt will be tough to beat again this year.

Over at the Skagerak Stadion the surprise of the night was taking place, as newly promoted Sandefjord managed to win on the road against Odd. 

It was a late show in what had been quite a tight game, but substitute Ze Eduardo came onto the pitch in the 83rd minute, and within 10 seconds had scored the opening goal from a corner. A bullet header to mark his first ever touch in Norwegian football.

It was 2-0 in the 90th minute, as another debutant, 20 year old Sivert Gussiås finishing off a quick counter after Odd had been denied a potential penalty at the other end.

There was time for Torgeir Børven to score a late consolation penalty for Odd, but this was a poor start to the season. Børven, last years top scorer in the league, also confirmed after the game that he will be joining Rosenborg when his contract is up at the end of July leaving Odd with a huge hole to fill.

Dønnum certainly one to watch this season

The final game on Tuesday saw Vålerenga defeat Sarpsborg 08 at Sarpsborg Stadion. It was a tight and fairly even game, but it was 22 year old Aron Dønnum, mentioned as one to watch in my preview, that stabbed home the only goal of the game as the ball fell to him about 14 yards out.

Wednesday 17th June

The final two games took place on Wednesday, with first up Start welcoming Strømsgodset. It was Start who dominated the game, but went in behind when Lars Jørgen Salvesen rose high to head home right at the end of the first half.

Start turned things around though with Bringaker flicking home, before man of the match Eman Markovic marked his Eliteserien debut with a neat finish from 14 yards.

The game finished 2-2 however, as midfielder Hermann Stengel managed to roll in a mishit shot into the far corner, after Salvesen himself had fluffed a shot into Stengel's path.

The final game of the week saw Brann visit Haugesund, where another debutant, Robert Taylor, scored the first goal to give Brann the lead at the start of the second half. 

Niklas Sandberg got Haugesund level from the spot on the hour mark, but it was not to be for Haugesund, and a 96th minute winner from Brann captain, Daniel Pedersen, took all 3 points home to Bergen. It was a real quality header from Pedersen after a nicely whipped in corner from Fredrik Haugen.

With Brann's late winner, it meant we saw five away winners in gameweek one, and nobody winning at home. Playing in front of no support might be affecting the home side more than the away on this viewing.

Results

Aalesund 1 - 4 Molde
Rosenborg 0 - 0 Kristiansund
Odd 1 - 2 Sandefjord
Viking 2 - 4 Glimt
Sarpsborg 0 - 1 Vålerenga
Stabæk 0 - 0 Mjøndalen
Start 2 - 2 Strømsgodset
Haugesund 1 - 2 Brann

Fixtures Gameweek 2

Saturday 20th June

Mjøndalen v Sarpsborg

Molde v Rosenborg  (Game of the Week)

Sunday 21st June

Bodø/Glimt v Haugesund

Strømsgodset v Odd

Kristiansund v Aalesund

Sandefjord v Start

Vålerenga v Stabæk

Brann v Viking

Molde and Viking

The Eliteserie, the top level of Norwegian football, begins again for 2020 on 4th April. Aalesund, Sandefjord and Start have been promoted from OBOS-ligaen to join the other 13 teams, replacing Tromsø, Lillestrøm and Ranheim.

I start my preview by looking at defending champions Molde, who ended Rosenborg's four year grip on the league with a convincing title win last season.

Aker Stadion

Champions Molde play their games at Aker Stadion in Molde. A beautiful 11'249 seater stadium right on the waterfront in Molde. 

Before the start of the 2019 season, Molde had their plans interrupted when Ole Gunnar Solskjær was given the Manchester United job. This meant a change of manager, as Erling Moe was promoted from first team coach to take charge of the team as caretaker, before being given the role permanently as the season got under way.

The success of the team was immediate, as they took the league by storm, winning eventually by 14 points, going the whole season unbeaten at home. It was their first title since 2015, and their fourth in total, all coming since 2011. 

Historically Molde have been the nearly men in Norway, consistently finishing in second place behind Rosenborg throughout the 80's and 90's, but now they are showing themselves to be a real challenger to the Trondheim club, thanks mainly to the backing of Norwegian billionaire, and club owner, Kjell Inge Røkke.

They finished last season with the best attack and defense in the league, scoring 72 goals and conceding 31 in the 30 game season. Goals and assists came from all over the park, and with the squad looking largely the same as last season, they will go in as favourites to retain their title.

Key Players - Molde have quality all over the park, and particularly in attacking areas. 

Magnus Wolff Eikrem

Former Manchester United youngster, Magnus Wolff Eikrem, re-signed for Molde after five years away, back in July 2018. Last season he was nominated for the team of the season as he contributed 11 goals and 8 assists in the league. He plays behind the striker in a '4231' system, and has license to roam around the park, often appearing in and around the edge of the box where he scored with some excellent finishes last season.

Molde tend to play with inverted wingers, the left footed Eirik Hestad on the right, and the right footed Ohi Omoijuanfo on the left. 

Hestad was the joint top assister in Norway last season with 11, he also contributed four goals, but there is no doubt he is the more creative of the front three. At 24 years old he has been a big player for Molde the last two years, and he will again play an important role in 2020. 

Omoijunafro was signed from Stabæk last winter, and he had an excellent debut season with 15 goals. He first broke on to the scene as a 17 year old with Lillestrøm in 2011. But it wasn't really until he came back to the Eliteserie with Stabæk that he found his feet at this level. 

A 17 goal season with them in 2017 put him on the radar for bigger clubs, and Molde took a chance a year later and it paid off handsomely last year. The tall Norwegian is quick once he gets going and causes trouble in behind the defenders as well as being a big aerial threat at the back post.

Leke James

Top scorer for Molde last season, in his first full season at the club was Nigerian Leke James. His 17 league goals (24 in total) fired his team to the top of the table, and he benefits greatly from players like Hestad and Eikrem always looking for him running off the shoulder of defenders. 

He is strong and relatively quick, and at 27, this was his best ever goal scoring season. Before a short stint in Beijing, James had been at Aalesund, where he had reached double figures in goals in his three full seasons at this level. So it was no surprise to see him being successful with better players around him at Molde.

One big loss for the club was Ruben Gabrielsen joining Toulouse over the winter. The club captain and central defender ended a six year spell at the club, which leaves a gap in central defense. Eikrem has taken over the captaincy, but it will be interesting to see who takes over in defense. 

Martin Bjørnbak is still there, he played nearly every game in 2019, and they have signed young defender John Kitolano on loan from Wolves. Kitolano is more of a left back, but it is possible he can play left centre back.

There is no doubt Molde go in as favorites for the 2020 season, and with the same attacking foursome that they had last season, they will be good to watch and will score plenty goals.

Prediction - 1st
First Fixture - Vålerenga (a) 4/4/2020

2019 was an excellent year for Viking, as they won the Norwegian Cup for the first time since 2001, the 6th time in their history. 

From the city of Stavanger in the West of Norway, Viking are historically one of the biggest clubs in the country. They have only ever played outside the top flight in three previous seasons, and have won it on eight occasions.

Home games are played at the 15'900 seater, Viking Stadion, which was built in 2004. 

Last season cup success, along with a 5th placed league finish was their best season in many years, and given they haven't won the league since 1982, it is clear a cup success is their best chance of a trophy.

Unfortunately for Viking, their two best players last season have both moved on this winter, and they will have to find new players to get them goals and create chances. 

As mentioned in the previous edition, Kristian Thorstvedt has moved on to Genk, meanwhile Croatian born Norwegian youth international, Zlatko Tripic has earned himself a move to Turkey with Goztepe. 

Tripic was the match winner in the cup final, the winger winning and scoring the penalty in December against Haugesund, while Thorstvedt was the top scorer for the club from midfield.

Replacements have been signed, thanks to the €2m brought in in transfer fees for Tripic and Thorstvedt, but they will be hard to replace.

De Lanlay re-signs for Viking

Key Players - Making his return to the club after five years at Rosenborg, is Yann Erik de Lanlay. The 27 year old Norwegian was a real star of the youth setup at Viking, playing 142 games for the club after breaking through at 17 years old. 

His spell at Rosenborg was mostlry frustrating, seeing him on the bench regularly, throughout his five years in Trondheim. The five time capped international has a point to prove going back to Viking, and he will be one of a number of players that they will look to score the goals they have lost in the winter.

De Lanlay can play on either wing, and will likely be used on the left to replace Tripic. 

On the other side, Kosovan international(capped once), Zymer Bytyqi, will be entering his 6th season with the club. The winger has never been prolific, only 13 goals in 153 appearances, so he will need to step up his output this year. 

Tommy Høiland was the main striker last year for the club, scoring 10 goals, eight of them in the league. He was prolific in the tier below, but has never scored double figures in all his years in the top division. 

Veton Berisha

Høiland is a poacher and gets scrappy goals, but they will be looking to new signing Veton Berisha to be a more consistent scorer. Berisha, brother to Valon, started his top flight career at Viking, playing a total of 107 games. In 2015 he had scored 11 in 14 games, before a summer move to Greuther Feurth in Germany.

He returned to Norway with Brann last season, but a disappointing return of three league goals was not what the side from Bergen were looking for. However, Viking have decided to spend NOK 6.5m (about £500k) to bring him back to Stavanger. 

Ever since 2015 he has never really been in the goals, but I am backing him to find his feet again at Viking and score double figures in the league this season.

The final player to look at is another one time capped Kosovan, Ylldren Ibrahimaj. The 24 year old midfielder played his first full season last year, after a summer 2018 move from Mjøndalen. 
A creative central midfielder, he was joint top of the assist charts last year, and will be the one they look to in midfield to make things happen.

It is a huge blow for Viking to lose their two best players from last season, and the players they have brought in probably don't quite have the same quality. Another cup run, plus Europa League later in the year will be a welcome distraction for the club, but they want to be pushing to get in to the top 4, but I think they will just miss out again.

Prediction - 4th
First Fixture - Strømsgodset (a) 4/4/2020