FC Copenhagen got back to winning ways in the Superliga on Monday evening to recover from their humiliating 0–4 defeat to Viborg FF in the previous round by beating Sonderjyske 3–1.
Mohamed Elyounoussi proved to be the decisive player, scoring two of FC Copenhagen's goals in the victory. The defeat leaves Sonderjyske stranded at the bottom of the table, winless and with just a single point from their first six matches.
At the other end of the table, the win moved Bo Svensson's outfit up to fourth place with 12 points from five games. FC Nordsjælland top the standings with 13 points ahead of Thursday's big clash at Parken. The home side dominated the match from the start, yet it was Sonderjyske who took a 1–0 lead after just seven minutes in front of a crowd of 20,073 at Parken.
French winger Ismael Seydi drove the ball to the byline and played it into the box, where Alexander Munksgaard came charging in to score.
None of the FCK players managed to mark Munksgaard, who scored his first goal for Sønderjyske with ease following his summer move from Norwegian football.
Midway through the first half, Sonderjyske came close to doubling their lead, but defender Maxime Soulas fired wide. Once again, it was Seydi who provided the delivery.
A goal there could have made things difficult for the home side, but instead, the home side equalized when Elyounoussi intercepted a loose ball, turned in the box, and fired it into the net off the post.
FC Copenhagen pushed for more goals, and the pressure paid off four minutes into first-half stoppage time as in-form midfielder Mads Emil Madsen unleashed a thunderous strike into the net.
Sonderjyske came out for the second half with plenty of energy, and midfielder Sefer Emini hammered a shot against the crossbar, but instead Elyounoussi doubled his tally of the night when he pounced on a rebound in the box to make it 3–1 in the 64th minute, marking his sixth league goal in five games.
Five minutes later, Sønderjyske were reduced to ten men when Brynjar Ingi Bjarnason was shown a red card for a professional foul on Elyounoussi. With the red card, the suspense totally evaporated for the final twenty-plus minutes.