Stryger Larsen hopeful: “Someday there will be the first”

GOTHENBURG. Just a draw against Gais, and now Malmö FF is ten points behind Mjällby.

The reigning champions have only scored half as many goals as last year.

– Then we scored on almost every chance. We don’t have that sharpness this year, says Jens Stryger Larsen. 

A point against Mjällby in the last round, and now only 0-0 against Gais at Gamla Ullevi. This after the significantly smaller Gothenburg club dominated against a Malmö FF that is now losing ground in the gold battle.

– It’s clear that we need to win games. We want to do better than this, says Isaac Kiese Thelin.

You are now ten points behind Mjällby. How far behind can you fall and still feel like you have a chance to catch up?

– I don’t know… We have to start focusing on winning games. It’s clear that there’s a big gap, but we believe in it. We’re not happy with everything today, because we know that we’re chasing and need to win. But this is also a tough away game.

Last year after 15 rounds, Malmö FF led the league with four points and had scored 40 goals. Now they are fifth, ten points behind Mjällby, and have only scored 20 goals.

– We need to create more chances now to score a goal. We don’t have the same sharpness as last year. We have to get better at being sharp on both sides of the pitch, says Jens Stryger Larsen.

The gold rush is out for Malmö historically

Gais player Amin Boudri was disappointed with the opposition that Malmö offered and said that they used to come to Gamla Ullevi and dominate.

– We are not dominating the fight today, he is absolutely right, says Stryger Larsen and continues:

– We would like to dominate the match more than we did. We have control of the ball, but we are not creating pressure and scoring chances like we should and can do.

No team has ever managed to win the Swedish Championship after being ten points behind.

– Someday will be the first. I see it as us only having played half the series, so there are many games left. It’s just that the next time we play we should have the three points. We can’t keep playing and drawing, it doesn’t give us enough points. But we’re only halfway through, so there are many points left to play for. Although it’s clear that we have to have a completely different performance than today.

Is the loss compared to last year due to the fact that the opponents have started to read you better? Or are you the one who is worse?

– Today we are not reaching the level we should. We have shown before that we can do it in the Allsvenskan, but we have not had the flow with us. We have had the chances to decide, but did not do it. But today it was not good enough to get the three points.