FCSB played host to Farul in the third round of the Liga I regular season on Sunday evening, and the match ended 2-2 in Bucharest. Both sides arrived with eleven points from eight games, which meant this was a chance to separate themselves from each other. By then, the table already showed six teams within three points of the top spot, so every result carried weight.
And here's the thing about the first half: the opening twenty minutes were all about pressure, not penetration. Doicaru gave Farul the lead at twenty-one minutes, and it came from a sequence that looked simple on paper but required patience to find the space. Radaslavescu levelled at forty-five plus one, a goal that felt inevitable after the visitors had been probing for an opening. Two yellow cards each by half-time told you the tempo was already straining.
The second half shifted direction quietly rather than dramatically. Dawa put FCSB ahead at fifty-seven minutes, and for a while it looked like the home side might finally break through. The penalty miss at sixty-nine from Tanase changed the atmosphere in the stadium, and you could see the visitors regroup. Joao Paulo equalised at eighty-six, a goal that came when most people expected the match to drift toward a draw.
The statistics tell you what you already knew from watching. FCSB had sixty-seven per cent possession and ten shots wide of target, while Farul managed thirty-three per cent and four. Both teams registered six shots on target, which means the goalkeepers had to be alert, but neither side created enough clear-cut chances to make the match interesting. The big chances were five for the hosts and four for the visitors, and neither side converted them with any consistency.
Both teams remain level on eleven points, with FCSB in sixth and Farul in fifth. The result keeps the standings tight at the top, and neither side has pulled away from the pack. That is how these matches often end when both teams have something to play for and neither wants to take unnecessary risks.
