Now against Olympiakos

The big coup is getting closer for Salzburg

Salzburg presented themselves as a cohesive team in the round of 16.(Bild: Fabian Weirather - FC Red Bull Salzburg)

Salzburg's performance against Atlético Madrid impressed for long stretches. In terms of attitude, the young bulls showed exactly what coach Daniel Beichler has in mind. This means that reigning champions Olympiakos Piraeus can also be put in their place in the quarter-finals. A column by "Krone" editor Christoph Kolland.

Reaching the Final Four in Nyon (Sz) was Salzburg's declared goal before the start of the Youth League season. The last hurdle on the way there is reigning champions Olympiakos Piraeus, who beat Sturm Graz 1:0 on Wednesday. The advantage: the young bulls have a home game on April 1 or 2. "We feel really comfortable in the academy. We've won every game there so far (note: against Celtic in the round of 16 after a penalty shoot-out). That gives the boys a good feeling," Salzburg coach Daniel Beichler sees it as a big advantage, but not a decisive factor.

Jannik Schuster celebrates reaching the quarter-finals.(Bild: Fabian Weirather - FC Red Bull Salzburg)

However, the team's performance is certainly an important factor. And that was convincing for long stretches against Atlético. You could see the players' will to win right from the start, and even the exclusion of Lassina Traore in the 35th minute did nothing to change that. The young bulls almost gave the impression that they were outnumbered.

The head coach was impressed: "An unstable team completely knocks it out of the park, but we continued to create chance after chance and you could see from that that the team has a brutal inner life."

First-time captain Valentin Sulzbacher also emphasized: "We already had a lot of self-confidence beforehand, but a win like this feels good once again." If Salzburg maintain this attitude and improve their efficiency in front of goal, the big coup - as in 2017 - is also possible.