Universitatea Craiova put five past FCSB at the Stadionul Ion Obregan on Saturday evening, a result that extends their unbeaten run to eight matches and leaves the visitors ten points adrift in the table. The hosts dominated from the first whistle, controlling territory and creating chances at will. FCSB, meanwhile, struggled to find any rhythm and could only watch from the sidelines as the gap between the two teams widened further.
And here's the thing about the opening goal — it came in the twenty-ninth minute when Assad Al Islam Al Hamlawi found the net. He had been waiting for his moment, and when the chance appeared he did not hesitate. By then FCSB were already on the back foot, having given nothing away in terms of structure but offering little in response. The ball dropped to Hamlawi in the box and he made no mistake.
Just before half-time, in the forty-fifth minute plus three, the same player struck again. Hamlawi completed his brace and Craiova led 2-0 at the break. To be fair, FCSB had their chances — they registered two big chances created — but they could not convert them. The Romanian side had nothing to do all evening, and the goal itself felt inevitable by that stage.
The second half brought more of the same. Alexandru Cicâldău added a third in the fifty-seventh minute, picking up where his team-mate had left off. Simon Elisor then doubled his tally, scoring in the sixty-eighth and eighty-seventh minutes to complete the scoring. Craiova made changes to manage the game — Hamlawi came off in the sixty-second, Elisor and Cicâldău both substituted in the eighty-fourth — but the result was never in doubt.
The statistics tell the story. Craiova had 51 per cent possession and registered eleven shots on target compared to FCSB's two. They created six big chances and completed 338 successful passes. FCSB managed only six key passes and two shots on target, a reflection of how thoroughly they were outplayed. The visitors had more attacks — 110 to 102 — but they lacked penetration.
We had tipped a home win before kick-off, with 55 per cent confidence. It was not a bold prediction — Craiova have the deeper squad and were coming off three consecutive victories — but it was right. The hosts needed the points badly, sitting second in the table, and they ground out the win in the most convincing manner possible.
The result leaves Craiova on twenty points after ten games, three behind the leaders. FCSB remain in tenth place with twelve points, four defeats already in the book. The gap between the two sides is now eight points, and for the visitors it is becoming a season of survival rather than ambition.
