On the final match-day of the 2020 league season, Djurgårdens hosted Varbergs. Going into the match, Djurgårdens knew they needed to win and hope other results went in their favor. Djurgårdens were 5th on the table with 45 points, 1 point behind 4th placed Norrköping; and 3 points behind BK Häcken, the team occupying 3rd position and final Europa League place. For Djurgårdens to finish 3rd based on goal difference, Norrköping and BK Häcken both had to suffer heavy defeats.
It was a sharp contrast from a year ago when Djurgårdens were crowned Swedish Champions and guaranteed a place in the preliminary UEFA Champions League qualification round. Things haven’t quite gone according to plan for 2019 Champions this season.
In what would be a tightly contested encounter of the Allsvenskan, Chipolopolo forward Edward Chilufya was named in the starting XI. ‘The boy from Kasama’ was handed an attacking role on the right flank. Chilufya was looking to add to his haul of 2 goals and 3 assists in 14 games of the current campaign. Another Chipolopolo star, Emmanuel Banda would be an unused substitute.
Both teams had decent opportunities to take the lead. The first half saw Chilufya miss an opportunity to register a goal when he failed to connect with a well-whipped cross from the left.
The game went into half time at 0: 0.
Shortly after the break, Djurgården broke the deadlock through Jesper Karstrom’s right-footed shot from inside the box in the 46th minute to take the lead.
Chilufya continued to cause problems for opposition defense with skillful forward surging runs with the ball. When called to defend, he was there to cover the right back.
Overall, it was an impressive shift for the former Mpande Academy player. Having run out of steam, he was rested in the 78th minute.
With both teams down to 10 players following the handing of red cards to a player from each team in separate incidents, Djurgården held on for a narrow 1-nil win.
Following Norrköping’s loss and BK Häcken’s goalless draw, Djurgården finished 4th, 1 point behind BK Häcken. As a result, Edward Chilufya, Emmanuel Banda, and the team have missed out on Europa League qualification.
This round of fixtures marked the end of the 2020 Allsvenskan. Malmö FF won the Swedish championship this season, their 24th Allsvenskan title and 21st Swedish championship overall, in the 27th round on 8 November 2020 when they won 4–0 against IK Sirius at home. The Swedish League will now go on pre-season break
