Sparta Prague defeated Teplice 4:1 in the Czech League's Regular Season round four at the epet ARENA on Saturday. The hosts extended their unbeaten run to eight after two matches, while Teplice's recent form took a sharp turn. And here's the thing — this was nothing like the results Sparta had been grinding out away from home.
T. Guddal opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and by then the visitors were already scrambling. L. Marecek doubled the lead before the quarter-hour mark, then A. Irving added a third just before the break. Teplice pulled one back through J. Alcocer in the thirty-ninth minute, only for their man to gift the goal back in the eighty-fourth. To be fair, the visitors had created their chances — four big chances, same as the hosts — but Sparta's efficiency was the difference.
The statistics tell the story of control. Sparta dominated possession at 65 per cent and hit the target thirteen times to Teplice's five. The visitors made more clearances and their goalkeeper made nine saves, but when you're defending for seventy minutes, the numbers don't lie. Sparta completed 482 passes across 522 attempts, while Teplice managed 229 from 283. And here's the thing about big chances — both sides created four, but Sparta converted three of theirs.
There were plenty of changes on the bench. Sparta brought on J. Auta and M. Bilek for the second half, while Teplice shuffled their defence with M. Cermak and R. Macek. J. Mercado came on for Teplice in the seventy-fourth minute, but the game was already slipping away. Laco Takacs received a red card in the eighty-eighth minute, a late addition to a day that had been difficult for the visitors.
Sparta sit tenth with nine points from seven games, four defeats already on their ledger. Teplice remain fifth with thirteen points, but this result ended a run of four matches without loss. The goal difference tells you everything — Sparta have scored eleven goals in seven games, Teplice eighteen. By then, the league table was already settling into something familiar.