Conference League

4th defeat in 4th game! Rapid nightmare continues

Where is the ball? All too often the Rapid team lost sight of the ball against Rakow Czestochowa ...(Bild: EPA/Art Service)

SK Rapid have conceded their fourth defeat in their fourth Conference League match of the season! The Hütteldorfer lost 1:4 against Rakow Czestochowa in Sosnowiec on Thursday and thus no longer have a realistic chance of reaching the top 24 and advancing to the knockout phase ...

Jonatan Braut Brunes (27th/penalty) and Lamine Diaby-Fadiga (40th, 51st, 53rd) sealed Rapids' third defeat in their last four competitive matches. Janis Antiste scored the consolation goal (75').

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Coach Peter Stöger initially had Nikolaus Wurmbrand, Petter Nossa Dahl and Matthias Seidl on the bench. Lukas Grgic was absent due to the birth of his child and Bendeguz Bolla was absent due to hip problems, with Martin Ndzie and Tobias Gulliksen among those starting. Rapid looked slightly disoriented from the start, but initially managed to prevent Rakow from becoming too dangerous - until the 27th minute.

Patryk Makuch went down in a tackle with Kouadio Ahoussou in the penalty area and Croatian referee Duje Strukan, after consulting VAR, awarded a penalty, which Brunes - cousin of Erling Haaland - converted safely. Before and after that, Rapid trotted across the difficult pitch without any ideas or concept, and the logical consequence was Rakow's 2:0. Brunes set up Diaby-Fadiga, who was allowed to set up the ball in the penalty area and easily flick it into the corner.

(Bild: EPA/Art Service)

Brief Rapid flare-up before the break
The visitors then had a brief flare-up before the break. Antiste headed straight into the arms of Rakow goalie Oliwier Zych from close range (44') and a long-range shot from Romeo Amane flew well over the crossbar (45'). However, they were unable to carry this momentum into the second half, quite the opposite: Rapid showed signs of disintegration immediately after the restart.

After a cross from Adriano Amorim, Diaby-Fadiga's header landed in the far corner, and two minutes later the attacker also dusted off a deflected shot from Makuch to make it 4:0. After just over an hour, Wurmbrand, Seidl and Louis Schaub were substituted, but this did not significantly change the character of the game.

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Despite Antiste's goal after Jonas Auer's assist, Rakow had everything under control and did not have to make much of an effort to hold on to their clear lead - despite the fact that the Polish runners-up and current sixth-placed team are not free from turbulence themselves. Rakow coach Marek Papszun had only announced at the final press conference on Wednesday evening that he wanted to leave the club for Legia Warsaw as soon as possible.

The result:
Rakow Czestochowa - SK Rapid 4:1 (2:0)
Sosnowiec, Zagłębiowski Park Sportowy, SR Strukan (CRO)

Goals: 1:0 (27') Brunes (penalty), 2:0 (40') Diaby-Fadiga, 3:0 (51') Diaby-Fadiga, 4:0 (53') Diaby-Fadiga, 4:1 (75') Antiste

Yellow cards: Makuch and Horn

Rakov: Zych - Tudor (46. Konstantopoulos), Racovitan, Svarnas - Ameyaw, Barath, Repka (87. Mircetic), Amorim (61. Bulat) - Diaby-Fadiga (61. Pienko), Brunes (74. Lopez), Makuch
Rapid: Gartler - Cvetkovic (81. Gröller), Ahoussou, Horn - Demir (81. Roka), Amane, Gulliksen (65. Schaub), Ndzie (65. M. Seidl), Auer - Antiste, Kara (65. Wurmbrand)