Against ten Rieder

Salzburg win and move up the table

Red Bull Salzburg celebrate their temporary lead in the table.(Bild: GEPA)

Runners-up Salzburg have taken the lead at the top of the Bundesliga table. The "Bulls" deservedly won 4:1 (2:1) against promoted SV Ried on Sunday, thanks in part to a prolonged spell of possession, and are now one point ahead of Rapid after the 12th round. Coach Thomas Letsch's team gained self-confidence for the Europa League home game against Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday.

In front of 8,352 spectators in Wals-Siezenheim, Salzburg took the lead after just 29 seconds with Clement Bischoff's first Bundesliga goal - the fastest goal of the season so far. The Innviertel side equalized through Kingstone Mutandwa (34') before Sota Kitano (45') put the hosts back on the winning track before the break. At the start of the second half, Rieder Nikki Havenaar was shown the red card for an emergency brake (49'). Substitutes Edmund Baidoo (72') and Petar Ratkov (81') made it clear.

Letsch rotated
During the week, both teams had to play over 120 minutes as they advanced to the cup quarter-finals. Different approaches were taken when it came to rotation: While Rieder, for whom coach Maximilian Senft was replaced by Eduard Buxmann due to personal reasons, only made one change, Letsch changed his starting eleven in eight positions. The 18-year-old Christian Zawieschitzky celebrated his Bundesliga debut in goal, as regular goalkeeper Alexander Schlager was not at 100 percent with an inflammation in his pelvic area. Kerim Alajbegovic, who had been in good form recently, was absent due to illness.

Clement Bischoff (left) scored after just a few seconds to make it 1:0.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Lightning start for Salzburg
Salzburg got off to a lightning start in rainy conditions. Rieder did not defend with the utmost consistency and Bischoff fired in from 20 meters after a rebound and hit the inside of the far corner. With the lead behind them, the Bulls controlled the match and had the 2:0 on their feet through Kitano. However, the Japanese player did not hit the ball properly (4th). After the spectacular start, the match quickly lost momentum and Salzburg let the visitors back into the game after half an hour.

Ried briefly gained hope
After Moussa Yeo failed to beat Ried goalkeeper Andreas Leitner (25'), the Innviertel side became more dangerous. Mark Grosse shot acrobatically over from six meters (27'), then the Upper Austrians combined spectacularly in the Salzburg penalty area. Antonio Van Wyk laid the ball off directly to Mutandwa, who finished into the far corner. However, Letsch's team managed to find an answer just before the break: Yeo played in Bischoff, who played an ideal through ball to Kitano, who was running behind. The 21-year-old flicked the ball into the far corner.

Havenaar makes the difference
After the break, Havenaar inadvertently made the difference. The Ried defender mishit a back pass on the halfway line and knocked down Bischoff, who was alone on goal. Salzburg made the most of their superior numbers and created several opportunities, while Ried hardly posed any danger. Baidoo created a comfortable lead with a low shot into the left corner. A short time later, Ratkov converted a pass from "joker" Yorbe Vertessen to score his seventh league goal.

Bundesliga (12th round):

Red Bull Salzburg - SV Ried 4:1 (2:1)
Wals-Siezenheim, Red Bull Arena, 8,352, SR Weinberger

Goals: 1:0 (1.) Bischoff 1:1 (34.) Mutandwa 2:1 (45.) Kitano 3:1 (72.) Baidoo 4:1 (81.) Ratkov

Salzburg: Zawieschitzky - Trummer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Terzic - Gourna-Douath (46. Kjaergaard), Diambou (46. Diabate) - Kitano (68. Vertessen), Yeo (68. Baidoo), Bischoff (82. Lainer) - Ratkov

Ried: Leitner - Havenaar, Sollbauer, Steurer - Bajic, Maart (79. Rasner), Mayer, Pomer (59. Rossdorfer) - Grosse (54. Scherzer), Mutandwa (59. Kiedl/79. Boguo), Van Wyk

Red card: Havenaar (49th/foul)

Yellow cards: none