After Utrecht efficiently dealt with Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the second round, Servette were relegated to the UEFA Europa League after being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds by Czech team Viktoria Plzen.
Servette arrived for the home match against FC Utrecht without a manager, following the dismissal of Thomas Haberli after last weekend's 4-1 defeat at home to FC St. Gallen. Three players were dropped after Saturday's heavy loss, including goalkeeper Jeremy Frick, Steve Rouiller and Lilian Njoh being replaced by Joel Mall, Bradley Mazikou, and Keyan Varela.
FC Utrecht manager Ron Jans provided Jamaican-English talent Adrian Blake another opportunity on the right wing, as the 20-year-old took the place of Miliano Jonathans.
A lackluster first half proved costly for FC Utrecht in the opening fifteen minutes, when striker Jeremy Guillemenot headed Servette into the lead after twelve minutes.
Gjivai Zechiel and Nick Viergever came agonizingly close to equalizing for the visitors, who went into halftime trailing 1-0 with a challenging task ahead.
Turnaround
Servette inadvertently aided Utrecht's comeback when Yoann Cathline charged down the left flank for the Swiss side, his shot deflecting into Mall's top corner off Servette defender Anthony Baron.
Utrecht took the lead just three minutes later when Sieb Horemans scored for the second consecutive match, marking Utrecht's third goal from a set piece in as many games.
Gjivai Zechiel completely flipped the match for Utrecht another seven minutes later, sealing the 3-1 scoreline with a composed finish into the bottom corner.
Servette failed to apply any pressure on FC Utrecht, who returned home to Galgenwaard with a comfortable two-goal lead, where the return leg will take place next Wednesday, August 14th, at 20.00 CET.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
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