4:2 home win

Sturm Graz vs. LASK – LIVE from 5pm

SK Sturm won against LASK with 4:2.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Champions Sturm Graz sent LASK into the qualifying group with a 4:2 home win.

LASK lost out in the Champions Group thriller of the Bundesliga. The team from Linz were beaten 2:4 (0:1) at league leaders Sturm Graz in the final round of the basic round on Sunday and thus slipped out of the top six. Tomi Horvat (31st), Otar Kiteishvili (foul, 50th) and William Böving (83rd, 96th/foul) ensured a deserved defeat for the visitors, who slipped back to seventh place behind Rapid and local rivals BW Linz.

Sturm, who had seen their form fluctuate in recent weeks, showed no sign of this and also coped with the exclusion of Dimitri Lavalee in the 67th minute. Even if LASK did manage to keep the game alive with late goals from Modou Cisse (77') and Robert Zulj (85'). Sturm gained self-confidence for the championship group, which they will tackle level on points with Vienna Austria and four points ahead of Salzburg. LASK, on the other hand, must hope to reach the European Cup play-offs. Markus Schopp's side start this mission in the qualifying group with 15 points, just two more than their closest rivals Hartberg.

LASK severely short of substitutes - Boateng in the starting eleven
The match was, of course, under an unfavorable star for the visitors. Captain Philipp Ziereis and Branko Jovicic were suspended, Florian Flecker and Sascha Horvath were ill, and Hrvoje Smolcic was suffering from an injury. Not to mention the long-term injuries to Andres Andrade, Moses Usor and Ibrahim Mustapha. That led to the comeback of Jerome Boateng at the heart of the defense, who was back on the pitch for the first time since October 2024 and immediately had a lot to do.

Jerome Boateng(Bild: GEPA)

Together with Cisse, the German held the defense together against Sturm's rolling attacks for the time being. And if not, Tobias Lawal was on hand. The goalkeeper cleared a cross from Horvat at the highest level (12'). However, he was unable to prevent the home side from taking a well-deserved lead. It was Zulj's fault, of course, as he turned a Horvat shot into an arc lamp, giving Lawal no chance.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The table showed LASK in seventh place at the break. However, one goal would have been enough for the Athletiker to be back at the top. But things turned out very differently. Almost immediately after the restart, Boateng brought down Kiteishvili in the penalty area after bad timing, and the fouled player himself increased the lead to 2:0 after a VAR review by referee Christopher Jäger.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Linz's desperate finish against decimated Sturm
Graz, who had made changes in attack (Leon Grgic instead of Seedy Jatta) and in central defense (Gregory Wüthrich/Lavalee for Emanuel Aiwu/Niklas Geyrhofer), were never embarrassed until the end. Transitional moments for Linz were harmless rarities, Sturm much closer to 3-0 than LASK to the final goal. Even the red card for Lavalee, who was the last man to stop Samuel Adeniran's breakthrough, did nothing to change that. At least for the time being.

In the final stages, when the Linzers - with three must-win goals in sight - threw everything forward once more, Cisse shone with a dream finish after a Zulj corner, and Zulj himself slammed a long-range shot into the net with the courage of desperation to make it 2:3. It was deflected just like Böving's earlier 3:1, and in stoppage time the Dane closed the scoring with a penalty after Cisse's handball.

SK Sturm Graz - LASK 4:2 (1:0)

Graz, Merkur Arena, SR Jäger

Goals: 1:0 (31.) Horvat, 2:0 (50.) Kiteishvili (foul penalty), 2:1 (77.) Cisse, 3:1 (83.) Böving, 3:2 (85.) Zulj, 4:2 (96.) Böving (foul penalty)

Sturm: Scherpen - Johnston (97. Malic), Wüthrich, Lavalee, Karic - Gorenc Stankovic, Horvat (86. Jatta), Kiteishvili (86. Chukwuani), Yalcouye (97. Hierländer) - Grgic (68. Geyrhofer), Böving

LASK: Lawal - Bogarde, Cisse, Boateng (89. Midzic), Bello - Zulj, Coulibaly (72. Pintor), Ljubic (94. Tchicamboud), Berisha - Entrup, Adeniran (72. Lang)

Red card: Lavalee (67th/emergency brake)

Yellow cards: none or Boateng, Bello