Victory at Sporting

A goal-scoring frenzy! LASK storms into the Europa League

(Bild: GEPA)

Just like last year, LASK has qualified for the group stage of the Europa League. On Thursday evening, the Linz-based team won their away playoff match against Sporting Lisbon by a decisive score of 4-1 (1-1). Gernot Trauner (14th min.), Marko Raguz (58th min.), Peter Michorl (65th min.), and Andreas Gruber (68th min.) scored the goals for the visitors, while Tiago Tomas had briefly equalized (42nd min.). For Sporting, Sebastian Coates was shown a red card in the 63rd minute for a professional foul. This marks the second time overall—and the first time since 2009—that four Austrian clubs have advanced to the group stages of European competitions.

Red Bull Salzburg will face FC Bayern, Atlético Madrid, and Lok Moscowin the Champions League; the Europa League opponents for Rapid, LASK, and WAC will be drawn on Friday at 1:00 p.m. in Nyon. Find all the details here.

Early Lead
LASK started strong and put pressure on the hosts with their pressing. Their early attack led to the corner that gave the Upper Austrians the lead—as is so often the case with set pieces—thanks to a combination play by Trauner and Peter Michorl, this time with the help of Andreas Gruber. Michorl crossed the ball into the middle, Gruber flicked it on with a header, and Trauner headed it in (14th minute).

As the match progressed, Sporting became more active, as seen in the 27th minute when LASK goalie Alexander Schlager had to stretch to stop a shot by Luciano Vietto. In the 39th minute, Nuno Santos ran alone toward Schlager but opted for a pass to the middle—which was blocked by Trauner—instead of taking the shot himself.

Shortly afterward, the ball finally found its way into the LASK net. Nuno Santos—the only one of the nine Sporting players who had recently recovered from a coronavirus infection to start the game—was able to cross unchallenged, and Tiago Tomas headed the ball past Schlager, who was moving in the opposite direction (42nd minute). Seconds before the halftime whistle, Trauner blasted the ball well over the goal from about ten meters out; a quarter of an hour earlier, Sporting goalkeeper Adan had managed to stop a long-range shot by Gruber only after a second attempt.

LASK Seals the Deal
The second half clearly belonged to LASK. After a cross from Reinhold Ranftl, Raguz found the far corner (58th minute) to restore the lead. A minute earlier, the visitors had gotten lucky, as Belarusian referee Alexei Kulbakov had not called a goal-line clearance following a challenge between Trauner and Tiago Tomas—unlike in the 63rd minute, when Husein Balic was brought down by Sebastian Coates just outside the box.

The Sporting defender was shown a red card, and Michorl buried the free kick in the far corner (65'). With LASK leading 4–1 thanks to a spectacular chip by Gruber, the game was effectively over (68'). Balic (72'), substitute Patrick Plojer (83'), and Raguz (93') even missed chances to extend the lead further.

For LASK, this was their third straight win, following a 7-0 victory over Dunajska Streda and a 3-1 win against WAC. Next Sunday, they face an away match against Rapid before the international break.

Here are the best photos from the game:

Sporting Lisbon - LASK 1–4 (1–1) 
Lisbon, Estádio José Alvalade, 
no spectators allowed (due to the coronavirus pandemic) 
Referee: Kulbakov (BLR)

Goals: 
0:1 (14') Trauner
1:1 (42') Tiago Tomas
1:2 (58') Raguz
1:3 (65') Michorl
1:4 (69.) Gruber

Sporting: Adan - Luis Neto, Coates, Feddal - Pedro Porro, Wendel, Nunes (71' Sporar), Nuno Mendes - Vietto (67' Poto), Tiago Tomas, Nuno Santos (78' Antunes)

LASK: Schlager - Wiesinger, Trauner, Filipovic (78. Andrade) - Ranftl, Holland, Michorl (87. Grgic), Renner - Gruber (74. Plojer), Raguz, Balic

Red card: Coates (63.)

Yellow cards: Pedro Porro, Luis Neto, Pote; Michorl

Results of Thursday’s Europa League playoff matches (winners advance to the group stage):
Sporting Lisbon - LASK 1:4 (1:1)
Tottenham Hotspur - Maccabi Haifa 7:2 (4:1)
Dinamo Zagreb - Flora Tallinn 3:1 (2:0)
FC Ararat-Armenia - Red Star Belgrade 1:2 (0:1)
Rosenborg Trondheim - PSV Eindhoven 0:2 (0:1)
Sporting Charleroi vs. Lech Poznan 1:2 (0:2)
Malmö FF - FC Granada 1:3 (1:1)
Slovan Liberec - APOEL Nicosia 1:0 (0:0)
CFR Cluj - Kuopio PS 3:1 (2:0)
Hapoel Be'er Sheva - Viktoria Plzeň 1:0 (1:0)
Dynamo Brest (BLR) - Ludogorez Razgrad 0:2 (0:0)
FK Sarajevo - Celtic Glasgow 0:1 (0:0)
Legia Warsaw - FK Karabakh Agdam 0:3 (0:0)
FC Copenhagen - HNK Rijeka 0–1 (0–1)
Standard Liège - Fehervar FC 3:1 (0:1)
Young Boys Bern - KF Tirana 3:0 (1:0)
Dundalk vs. KI Klaksvik 3–1 (1–0)
FC Basel (Lindner as a substitute) - CSKA Sofia 1:3 (0:0)
Rio Ave - AC Milan 8–9 on penalty kicks (2–2, 1–1, 0–0)