Austrian Bundesliga

Pure ecstasy and joy on the one hand, depression, helplessness and disappointment on the other. A football evening couldn’t be more contrasting.

SK Sturm Graz celebrated a 5-0 win against FC Red Bull Salzburg in round nine of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga on Sunday evening. The “Bulls” had never lost to the Styrians by a five-goal difference – not even during the Austria-Salzburg era.

A bust for the history books

In the 5-0 defeat in Graz-Liebenau, Salzburg experienced the bitterest Bundesliga minutes in a long time. In the league, the dethroned series champions only suffered a bigger defeat in the “Red Bull era” against SK Rapid. The 0:7 on Easter Sunday 2008 burned itself into the souls of many fans – both positively and negatively.

Salzburg’s second-highest defeat since 2005 came in the Champions League round of 16 against FC Bayern Munich just over two years ago (1:7). Before the game, however, there was a Corona wave among the “Bulls”.

Third place among the highest bankruptcies is the most recent defeat in the top game against SK Sturm. Coach Pepijn Lijnders’ team was unable to react after the 4-0 defeat in the premier class against Stade Brest a few days ago. In fact, the runner-up suffered their third and (shared) fifth-highest defeat within a week since Red Bull joined the team.

It only works together

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The players were accordingly at a loss after the game in the mixed zone. “It was a poor performance from all of us,” admitted Amar Dedic. “Nothing fits on the pitch. You can see that. I don’t need to say anything else.”

The team does have quality, as they demonstrated at the beginning of the season, said the Bosnian, but “there are phases in which you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s just happened. We have to make sure we get the best out of it make.”

Dedic also made it clear that the rumors that he indirectly criticized the team or teammates after the CL defeat against Stade Brest – “There are his reasons” – are untrue. “We are all a team, every player is important to us. Right now it is a phase in which not one, two or three are involved, but everyone. We have to get out of the slump together.”

Early substitutions

Leandro Morgalla also had a hard time coming up with an explanation. “Nobody wants to lose 5-0 here. That’s not what we want. Now we have to draw conclusions from it very quickly.”

Salzburg actually wanted to show a reaction after the defeat in the premier class. This must now come after the international break, said Morgalla.

I see that since we qualified for the UEFA Champions League we are a shadow of ourselves

Salzburg coach Pep Lijnders

The two full-backs, Dedic and Morgalla, had to be taken off the field early against Sturm. An examination is scheduled for Dedic on Monday. It’s probably “something muscular”. But the 22-year-old doesn’t think his injury is too bad.

Morgalla got “pretty sick” in the first half. That’s why we decided to substitute him. But I feel good,” explains the German, who had to take a break from February to July this year due to myocarditis.

Lijnders takes the defense into account

Coach Lijnders also tried to find explanations at the press conference after the game and emphasized in particular: “Our last line has to defend better. We can’t always be 10-15 meters behind.” The ex-Liverpool co meant that the defense had to move forward when the offense was pressing.

“If the attackers move forward and the defensive players go back ten meters, it is easy for the opponent to get balls behind the defense. I have the feeling at the moment: every opponent’s long ball leads to a chance.” The brief comments only concerned the defense. Lijnders said he could talk about the potential for improvement in the offensive for half an hour.

The Dutchman also congratulated the Graz team on their victory – “they were much better in all moments of the game” – and at the same time noted the starting point of Salzburg’s recent worse phase.

“I see that since we qualified for the UEFA Champions League we are a shadow of our former selves.” Two games were particularly bitter after moving into the premier class: the 2:3 against SK Rapid and the 0:3 at Sparta Prague. “This creates instability in the group. Trust is lost. We no longer had the leadership qualities we had before.”

Piatkowski had to hold on

According to Lijnders, the temporary absences of Maurits Kjaergaard and Mads Bidstrup were particularly serious. “‘Mau’ was the one who was responsible for 80 percent of our build-up play. Mads breathed life into our pressing. Having to do without both of them wasn’t easy.” While Bidstrup is fit again, Kjaergaard will probably be able to get back into action after the international break.

Kamil Piatkowski was only granted a break in the first half against SK Sturm Graz

Photo: © GEPA

By the way: A Fernando comeback will take a “long, long time,” said Lijnders. Aleksa Terzic is back in training. It should also be mentioned that Dorgeles Nene and Moussa Yeo were not in the squad against Sturm on Sunday. Both were missing.

Due to the absences, Lijnders has often been forced to rotate in recent weeks. Against Sturm, the Salzburg trainer surprised with Samson Baidoo and Hendry Blank in the first eleven. Kamil Piatkowski, who was actually seeded, remained on the bench – for good reason.

“We didn’t have many central defenders available recently. Kamil had to play through all the games with problems in his legs. He had to bite through and play because we didn’t have any other solutions. Now that Baidoo and Blank are available, we could do Kamil “It took some pressure off him, but of course he’s needed during the season.” The Pole still had to play in Graz because Blank was visibly struggling against the hosts’ attack line.

“Not the claim of FC Red Bull Salzburg”

“But yes. Instability in a team often comes with all the changes in the back row,” Lijnders had to admit. “We have to develop. Luckily the season is still long and we are still in a position where we can catch up with Sturm in terms of points.”

Sports director Bernhard Seonbuchner announced internal discussions on “Sky” on Monday. “We are now using the international break to work through things.” One thing is clear: “Such a performance is not what FC Red Bull Salzburg wants.”

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