Universitatea Craiova defeats FCSB 5-0 to move within one point of SuperLiga top spot

Dominant first half at Ion Oblemenco

Universitatea Craiova secured a 5-0 victory against FCSB in round 10 of the Romanian SuperLiga on Saturday evening at the Ion Oblemenco Stadium. Filipe Coelho's side controlled the encounter from the opening minutes, testing FCSB goalkeeper Stefan Tarnovanu as early as the third minute. FCSB attempted to respond with penalty appeals from forward Denis Dragus in the seventh minute and a Meriton Korenica free kick that sailed over the bar in the 16th minute. Craiova had an effort by Etim disallowed for offside in the 27th minute before Palestinian forward Assad Al-Hamlawi opened the scoring two minutes later following a throw-in by Nicusor Bancu. FCSB suffered a further setback in the 42nd minute when Dragus was forced off through injury, raising doubts over his availability for Gheorghe Hagi's national squad. Al-Hamlawi struck again in the third minute of first-half stoppage time following a pass from Etim to establish a 2-0 lead at the interval.

Second-half expansion and match timeline

The home side maintained offensive control throughout the second half against a disorganized FCSB defense. Midfielder Alexandru Cicaldau made it 3-0 in the 57th minute by converting a cross delivered from the left flank by Bancu. Substitute Simon Elisor replaced Al-Hamlawi in the 62nd minute and added Craiova's fourth goal seven minutes later after an attacking run by Stefan Baiaram. Elisor completed his brace in the 87th minute, finishing from a setup inside the penalty area by Luca Basceanu. The result handed FCSB one of their heaviest defeats of the season and increased pressure on head coach Marius Baciu.

Post-match reactions and defensive critique

After the final whistle, Al-Hamlawi explained his positioning and tactics against the FCSB central defenders on his opening goal.

I saw that their central defenders were sleeping, and I went behind them. I looked at him, he threw me the ball, and I was left alone with the goalkeeper.

The Palestinian striker added that there was little left to discuss following a 5-0 result, taking his season total to six goals and one assist in 13 matches across all competitions. Former international Gica Craioveanu commented on television that the striker's post-match remark was the statement of the past five years. Former Romanian international Ilie Dumitrescu took a different angle during the broadcast, arguing that players should show respect for opponents while analyzing FCSB's structural deficiencies.

From my point of view, that was FCSB's problem: disorganization in the defensive phase. There are very big problems. Even if you have a valuable squad, reaction to off-the-ball play does not exist.

SuperLiga standings impact

The three points lifted Universitatea Craiova to second place in the SuperLiga standings with 20 points from 10 matches. Coelho's squad sits one point behind league leaders Dinamo, who hold first place with 21 points. In contrast, FCSB remained in 10th place on 12 points after recording four defeats and one draw across their last five league fixtures. FCSB now prepares for subsequent domestic fixtures while Craiova continues their title pursuit near the top of the table.