Graz Was the Better Team for Most of the Game

LIVE NOW: Red Bull Salzburg vs. Sturm Graz!

A jubilant group of the Salzburg winners(Bild: GEPA)

Lots of intensity, lots of aggression, lots of pace, but little technical finesse and no goals for a long time—the match between FC Red Bull Salzburg and SK Sturm Graz, the highlight of the 7th round of the Austrian Bundesliga, didn’t get exciting until the very end, with three goals for the home team and a red card for the visitors!

Nikolas Veratschnig (72'), Kevin Boma (76'), and Aboubacar Camara (83') scored in the clash between two Europa League qualifiers for Danny Röhl’s team, which remains undefeated. For Sturm, Jürgen Heil received a yellow-red card in the 75th minute.

Under Röhl, Salzburg has now gone 14 games unbeaten. The win against Sturm was their first after six previous unsuccessful attempts. In the standings, Salzburg heads into the three-week international break as Rapid’s closest pursuer—one point behind the Viennese—while Sturm now sits in fourth place, five points behind third-place LASK.

Sturm Surprises the Home Team
The runner-up showed in Wals-Siezenheim that they were well prepared for their opponent and got into the game much more quickly. The Graz team, once again led by captain Jon Gorenc Stankovic, completely stifled Salzburg’s flow with aggressive pressing in the first quarter-hour. Ingolitsch’s team had a clear advantage in midfield, but the offense—featuring Simon Seidl and Axel Kayombo up front—was initially unable to create any clear-cut scoring chances.

(Bild: GEPA)

For Salzburg, Valentin Zabransky was back in central defense, while Karim Konate started in a somewhat unfamiliar role in attacking midfield. The home team posed a threat in the first half only during a stretch from the 20th to the 30th minute. Nikolas Veratschnig and Edmund Baidoo kept Sturm goalkeeper Daniil Chudjakow busy, then a cross that kept getting longer and longer hit the post (24th minute). Haris Tabakovic was a non-factor. Sturm created two more genuinely dangerous chances before halftime. First, Seidl failed to capitalize on a mistake by Christian Zawieschitzky, then Kayombo successfully launched a solo run from the midfield line, though his finish left something to be desired (38').

Röhl’s Substitutions Bring a Turnaround
Sturm remained the more aggressive side even after the break. Röhl reacted to the lack of change in the game’s flow after just a few minutes and made a triple substitution in the attacking line—bringing on Camara, Sota Kitano, and Yorbe Vertessen—which ultimately proved decisive. Only Tabakovic remained on the field—and continued to battle it out with Joshua Quarshie. For Sturm, Oumar Diakite stepped onto the field shortly afterward, returning to a familiar venue. The Ivorian, who came up through the Liefering youth system, was later joined by Otar Kiteishvili and Filip Rozga. Both teams continued to play with intensity, but the game struggled to find a rhythm on either side. The first goal came from a situation that played out unluckily for Graz.

After a tackle at the midfield line, Arjan Malic remained on the ground injured, but Salzburg quickly took a throw-in. Substitute Camara had a clear path to goal but was denied by Chudjakow. Veratschnig deflected Bartosz Mazurek’s follow-up shot into the Sturm goal. Heil protested too vehemently afterward and was shown a yellow card—a caution with serious consequences. Shortly thereafter, the fullback held back his opponent and was promptly shown a second yellow, resulting in a red card. Boma headed the ensuing free kick into the net to make it 2–0.

(Bild: GEPA)

Sturm was in deep trouble within just a few minutes. The game was decided by a dream goal: Camara volleyed a Kitano cross with a bicycle kick off the crossbar and into the net.

The final score:
FC Red Bull Salzburg – SK Sturm Graz 3–0 (0–0)
Salzburg, Red Bull Arena, 12,631 spectators, Referee Isa Simsek

Goals: 1–0 (72.) Veratschnig, 2–0 (77.) Boma, 3–0 (83.) Camara

Yellow-red card: Heil (75./criticism, foul)

Yellow card: Koller

Salzburg: Zawieschitzky – Veratschnig, Boma, Zabransky, Schmid – Barry (66' Tohumcu), Mazurek (86' Krätzig) – Redzic (52. Camara), Konate (52. Vertessen), Baidoo (52. Kitano) – Tabakovic
Sturm: Chudjakow – Malic (85. Petrovic), Quarshie, Koller, Heil – Hödl, Gorenc Stankovic, Weinhandl (85. G. Mamageishvili), Matoshi (66. Rozga) – S. Seidl (66. Kiteishvili), Kayombo (58. O. Diakite)