Bundesliga Live Updates

Victory Over Defending Champions LASK! Rapid Remains at the Top of the Table

Ercan Kara put the Hütteldorf team ahead.(Bild: GEPA)

Matchday 8 in the Austrian Bundesliga: Reigning champions LASK face SK Rapid in the top match. We’re covering it live—see the live updates below. The score is currently 1-0 in favor of Rapid.

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Things have hit a bit of a snag for LASK lately. Their tremendous momentum—five straight league wins and the “Miracle of Linz” in the Champions League qualifier against Celtic Glasgow—has slowed somewhat. First came the 0-1 loss at AEK Athens in the Champions League, then the 1-2 defeat at Sturm Graz, and finally a 3-3 draw after leading 2-0 at halftime in Hartberg. Coach Dietmar Kühbauer was tight-lipped afterward, but has since found his voice again. Two big matches in a row await his team: first against Rapid, then three days later back at the Gugl against Liverpool. He didn’t detect any concentration issues among his players. “If anyone can’t shake that off, they’re in the wrong movie. They should talk about Liverpool after the game. Rapid is just as important,” the Burgenland native made clear.

Adeniran is back
At least he has striker Samuel Adeniran back after recovering from a broken cheekbone, giving him a “luxury problem” up front, as he emphasized. In any case, there’s a great deal of respect for the Green-Whites. “They’re on a roll, having had their best start in decades. That makes them dangerous because they’re coming in with tremendous confidence,” said Kühbauer. Indeed, Rapid’s confidence is sky-high. The last time they managed six wins in their first seven league games was 39 years ago. In 16 competitive matches this season, they’ve recorded 13 wins and suffered just one loss—a 1–5 defeat to Salzburg. “I believe we can go into the match with confidence,” said forward Ercan Kara.

LASK and former Rapid coach Didi Kühbauer(Bild: APA-Images / Harald Dostal)

Rapid Still Winless at the Linz Arena
However, there has been little to show for recent visits to LASK. In seven attempts since the opening of the new Linz Arena, they have yet to secure a win and have earned only one point—a 1-1 draw on July 28, 2023. Most recently, in May, they lost 1-3 after leading 1-0. “We’re now a team with more faith in the players we have,” said coach Johannes Hoff Thorup, who has center back Jakob Schöller back after a recent injury. The Dane is convinced that his team has taken another step forward during the break. “One of the reasons (for the success, ed.) is that we’ve had more time together. Not because we’ve made major changes to the roster, but because we’ve had many small training sessions with a clear vision from day one. And now we’re reaping the rewards.”