Liverpool midfielder makes history in Switzerland during dramatic derby

Liverpool midfielder Dominic Corness is one of few Englishmen to play in the Swiss Super League – and on Sunday that saw him help create history.

Corness made the bold decision this summer to leave Liverpool on loan and join newly promoted Yverdon Sport in the Swiss top flight.

It marked the 20-year-old’s first opportunity to play senior football, having spent the previous 15 years of his career as part of the Reds’ academy.

His debut came off the bench in a 2-0 defeat to FC Zurich in July, before an afternoon as unused substitute in a 2-2 draw with Young Boys.

Sunday brought another cameo, as Yverdon Sport came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory over rivals FC Lausanne-Sport in the Vaud derby.

In doing so, he helped make history in the first time English players faced off in the Swiss Super League – founded in 2003.

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— Yverdon Sport (@yverdonsport) August 6, 2023

Part of the Lausanne-Sport side was left-back Archie Brown, formerly of Derby, who played the full 90, while Corness replaced Yverdon Sport’s Hugo Fargues for the final 19 minutes.

Ex-Arsenal winger Trae Coyle was an unused substitute for Lausanne-Sport, while Jamie Roche – half-English, half-Swedish – came off the bench.

The scores were level upon Corness’ introduction, but Evans Maurin struck in the 93rd minute to seal Yverdon Sport’s first win of the season.

Wearing the No. 10 shirt, the young midfielder has looked to keep things simple so far as he builds up to his full debut.

That could come later this month, with Yverdon Sport’s next two games coming against Lugano in the league (August 13) and Haute-Gruyere in the first round of the Swiss Cup (August 20).

The latter is his most likely chance of a start, with lower-league Haute-Gruyere providing the opportunity for manager Marco Schallibaum to shuffle his pack.

While Brown and Corness made history in the Swiss Super League on Sunday, they are not the first English players to ply their trade in Switzerland.

David Fairclough is among those to have done so before the top tier’s reformation, with the super-sub joining FC Luzern from Liverpool in 1983.