Bulls slip up in Graz

1:1! Underdog GAK battles to a draw against Salzburg

The match between GAK and FC Red Bull Salzburg ended in a draw...(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

The battle for the Bundesliga title remains a snail's race! Red Bull Salzburg managed to return to the top of the table on Sunday, but disappointed with a meager 1:1 draw against second-to-last GAK ...

After the 19th round, the runners-up are level on points with LASK, who drew 1:1 in Ried on Saturday. The Graz team are now only three points ahead of Blau-Weiß Linz, as the bottom team defeated WAC 2:1.

An own goal by Tim Drexler, which was credited by the league to Graz's Leon Klassen (16th minute), completed Salzburg's poor start. Karim Konate's equalizer (40th minute) was all the home side could muster in front of 5,731 spectators at the Merkur Arena. This was another blow after the 2-0 home defeat to Austria Vienna, and coach Thomas Letsch will continue to face strong headwinds in the coming days. The Styrians are now without a win in four games, with their second game of the spring also ending in a draw.

Thomas Letsch(Bild: GEPA)

Salzburg looked unsettled at the start, with their defensive coordination completely off. Alexander Schlager had to parry a header from Daniel Maderner (4') and made a mistake on a sortie that had no consequences. However, the dominant phase of the game for Graz, who were without their suspended top striker Ramiz Harakate, did not last long, and Salzburg found their feet. Kerim Alajbegovic (11th minute) and Konate (16th minute) were denied by GAK goalkeeper Franz Stolz.

Unfortunate Drexler debut
In response, the ball ended up in the net. Maderner narrowly missed the goal after hooking past Schlager, but Klassen brought the ball in from a tight angle to the center, where Drexler unfortunately deflected the ball into his own goal at the near post. The 20-year-old German's debut in the starting lineup could not have gotten off to a more bitter start. Salzburg pushed for the equalizer, but Konate's lob from a prime position failed (23'), a sharp cross from Alajbegovic found no takers (33'), and the 18-year-old also shot wide himself (38').

Karim Konate (M.)(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

The visitors were rewarded for their efforts with an equalizer before the break. After a cross from Krätzig, Konate outran the indisposed Martin Kreuzriegler and scored directly into the corner. It was the first league goal for the Ivory Coast striker since the 2-1 win against Altach on October 19, 2024. After the restart, Edmund Baidoo missed the chance to make it 2-1 with a header from close range (57').

Otherwise, however, a second goal for the home side was in the air. Maderner took a risk with a shot but missed the goal by a wide margin (74'). Shortly afterwards, "super sub" Mark Grosse acted too unselfishly and laid the ball back to Maderner, who failed to connect properly (74'). As a result, Graz remained winless against Salzburg for the ninth time in a row in the league, but unlike the 5-0 defeat in the first half of the season, there was still reason to celebrate this time.

The result:
GAK – FC Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 (1-1)
Graz, Merkur Arena, 5,731 spectators, referee Pfister

Goals: 1-0 (16') Klassen, 1-1 (40') Konaté

Yellow cards: Koch, Owusu, Maderner

GAK: Stolz – Owusu, Pines, Kreuzriegler (87. Graf) – Italiano (80. Frieser), Koch (60. Paumgartner), Olesen, Satin (80. Lichtenberger), Klassen – Hofleitner (60. Grosse), Maderner
Salzburg: Schlager – Lainer, Gadou, Drexler, Krätzig – Kitano (46. Kjaergaard), Bidstrup (74. Bischoff), S. Diabate, Alajbegovic – Konate (66. Redzic), Baidoo (66. Onisiwo)