The goalkeeper is a huge help

Salzburg sends Austria to last place

Austria goalie Samuel Sahin-Radlinger made two mistakes.(Bild: GEPA)

Red Bull Salzburg remains firmly in the mix in the race for the Bundesliga title. The runners-up defeated Vienna’s Austria 3-1 on Wednesday in the sixth match of the championship group, just as they had in Sunday’s clash in Favoriten, and thus took the lead in the standings—at least until the end of the evening match between Sturm Graz and LASK. The Viennese slipped six points behind to sixth place and thus out of the European qualification spots.

Thanks to the victory by Coach Daniel Beichler’s squad, the home team emerged victorious for the first time in the fourth direct matchup of the season. Goals by Yorbe Vertessen (16th minute) and Jannik Schuster (22nd minute—his first Bundesliga goal), as well as an own goal by Samuel Sahin-Radlinger (76th minute), sealed the win in front of 7,154 spectators. For the “Veilchen,” who were weakened by injuries, a goal by Reinhold Ranftl was the only highlight. Salzburg will face Rapid on Sunday, while Austria will travel to Sturm Graz.

(Bild: GEPA)

Trummer in place of Lainer
Beichler made only one change, with Tim Trummer defending at right back in place of the suspended Stefan Lainer. Austria coach Stephan Helm did not alter his back three despite a weak performance in Wals-Siezenheim. Overall, there were only two changes. Philipp Maybach replaced Abubakr Barry in central midfield, as Barry had experienced adductor problems during warm-ups. Lee Kang-hee moved into the starting lineup in place of Sanel Saljic.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

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The Salzburg side carried the momentum forward, clearly dictated the play, and, just as in the “first leg,” were rewarded before halftime. Kerim Alajbegovic actually fumbled the ball, but the Viennese couldn’t clear it, and it found its way via Frans Krätzig to Vertessen, who didn’t hesitate and finished into the corner. Six minutes later, Sahin-Radlinger came out first on a Kjaergaard corner, but then took a few steps back and was powerless against Schuster’s header, who was completely unmarked at the five-yard line.

Mistake by Sahin-Radlinger
The visitors were harmless in attack but managed to pull one back thanks to a defensive lapse by the home side. Kelvin Boateng secured the ball on the counterattack and played it to Manfred Fischer, whose cross provided the perfect assist for Ranftl, who slotted it past Alexander Schlager. After the restart, there was a flurry of chances. Kjaergaard narrowly missed the goal (48'). Wearing the Austria jersey, Fischer was denied by the Salzburg goalkeeper and sent his follow-up shot over the bar (51'). Almost immediately after, it was Sahin-Radlinger who made a save against Karim Konate and was lucky that Kjaergaard’s follow-up volley hit the crossbar (52’). Lee Tae-seok, in turn, failed to hit the target with an Austria volley (59’).

(Bild: GEPA)

In the 75th minute, the 3-1 goal didn’t count because Vertessen had handled the ball before Kjaergaard’s shot into the net. But the match was decided shortly after thanks to a gift. Sahin-Radlinger misjudged a backpass from Plavotic, and the ball rolled into the net. Thus, the “Bulls” celebrated their third win of the season against Austria; in their tenth consecutive Championship Group match, they remained undefeated against the Viennese. The latter have only secured four points in the “upper playoff.”

FC Red Bull Salzburg – FK Austria Vienna 3:1 (2:1)
Wals-Siezenheim, Red Bull Arena, 7,154 spectators, Referee Lechner.

Goals:
1:0 (16.) Vertessen
2:0 (22.) Schuster
2:1 (34') Ranftl
3-1 (76') Sahin-Radlinger (own goal)

Salzburg: Schlager – Trummer, Schuster, Drexler, Krätzig (80. Terzic) – Kitano, Bidstrup, Kjaergaard (87. Diabate) – Vertessen (80. Aguilar), Konate (73. Onisiwo), Alajbegovic (72. Yeo)

Austria: Sahin-Radlinger – Handl (59. Plavotic), Dragovic, Wiesinger – Ranftl, Lee K., Maybach (59. Wustinger), Lee T. (80. Schablas) – Fischer, Boateng (82. Kante), Markovic (59. Saljic)

Yellow cards: Kjaergaard , Alajbegovic; Maybach, Lee K., Plavotic

Post-match comments:

Daniel Beichler (Salzburg coach): “Those were three extremely important points. It’s not a given to pick up six points against Austria, especially since there were phases again today where Austria had the upper hand. Over 90 minutes, we were the deserved winners. The fact is that the guys put in a lot of effort. Their performance, commitment, and execution of the game plan were all solid. But there’s still plenty to do; above all, we don’t yet have the stability we want. In any case, these successes are good for the players. We mustn’t make the mistake of getting complacent.”

Stephan Helm (Austria coach): “You can interpret it however you want, but away games in Salzburg aren’t easy. Nevertheless, we had the chance to equalize in the second half and turn the game in our favor. Above all, we need to perform better defensively in the coming weeks. We applied more pressure in this game than we did on Sunday, but we had our problems against the extremely quick Salzburg players—we simply have to defend better. It’s frustrating that we’re conceding goals too easily. On the positive side, one or two players showed flashes of talent. There’s no need to discuss the fact that Barry and Eggestein are missing—they’re important players.”