Can Young Boys back up their Bern wall?

You know those nights when the scoreline lies through its teeth? When one side barely has the ball, gets outshot two to one, and still walks off grinning? This was one of those. Young Boys 3, Ponferrada 0. It flattered the hosts, but try telling the Wankdorf that.

Jacub Batchelor was the difference. Eleven minutes in, he swept home from Adrián Pérez's cutback. Ten minutes later, Pérez got on the scoresheet himself after Gabriel Gal won the ball high up. And in first-half stoppage time, Batchelor bent a low drive into the corner for 3-0. Game over, or so we thought.

Because after the break, Ponferrada laid siege. Moti Tal made eight saves, some of them ridiculous, while his defence flung bodies in the way. The visitors had 55 per cent of the ball, fifteen shots to Young Boys' eight, and ten corners. Gino van Velzen ran the show, five key passes, four shots, two on target. But the ball would not go in.

Ponferrada's selection had raised eyebrows. Javier Mata, a regular at right-back, was benched, with Mathias Stokkeland starting. Gérson, the £35.9m summer signing from Real Madrid, was on the left, but the Camacho-Gérson flank has been a problem: four games together, one win, two losses, and a goal difference that makes grim reading. They created plenty here, but Tal was having none of it.

Young Boys changed shape, too, going to a 4-2-3-1 with Batchelor in the hole behind Pérez. It worked a treat in the first half. Angelino Baião, a regular centre-back, wasn't in the squad, and Vladimir Kostić started inside before shuffling right. The Swiss champions' title run ended back in 2049, but this is still a club with European pedigree.

Our preview asked if Swiss pride was on the line. It was. And for one mad half, Young Boys had it in spades. The table won't show how ugly it got. But three goals, three points, and a clean sheet? Bern will take that every time.