Decision postponed
LIVE: Sturm scores after 44 seconds against Salzburg
After trailing 2-0, Red Bull Salzburg fought their way to a 2-2 draw against Sturm Graz and thus kept their chances of winning the title alive. The Styrians had everything under control until the 72nd minute before they let the game slip from their grasp in a crazy final phase.
Sturm Graz remain masters of their own destiny in the Bundesliga title fight. The Styrians missed a great opportunity to clinch the title on Sunday in a worthy battle with serial champions Salzburg and had to settle for a 2:2 (2:0) draw after leading 2:0 until the 72nd minute. However, the Styrians still have a three-point lead over the defending champions with three rounds to go.
Prass goal after 43 seconds
Sturm got off to the perfect start with a lightning goal from Alexander Prass after 43 seconds, and the ÖFB team player was also responsible for the 2-0 (34') before the break. Joker Dorgeles Nene (72') and Karim Konate (82') rewarded the home side's efforts late on, allowing Salzburg to keep their hopes of winning their eleventh league title in a row alive.
Sturm still hold the aces, of course. The team from Graz still have to play Hartberg (home), LASK (away) and Klagenfurt (away) in the final, while Salzburg face Rapid (away), Hartberg (away) and LASK (away) in this phase.
Four days after the shock 4-3 defeat at Austria Klagenfurt, Salzburg were without suspended central defender Strahinja Pavlovic, who was replaced by Samson Baidoo in front of 17,062 spectators. In midfield, Mads Bidstrup, who had been struggling recently, was able to play again, while Karim Konate and Petar Ratkov formed the double attack. Sturm played almost the same way as in the recent 3-1 win over Rapid, with the exception of David Affengruber, who replaced Dimitri Lavalee in central defense; the Belgian, who recently extended his contract until 2026, moved to left-back in place of the suspended David Schnegg.
The game started with a bang. After winning the ball in their own half, Sturm exploited the somewhat disorganized Salzburg defence with four passes and Prass converted William Böving's assist with the help of Mamady Diambou to take the lead. The home side showed a clear reaction and subsequently created several opportunities. Konate's header went wide of the goal (4') and Oscar Gloukh's shot was also off target (10'). In addition, Ratkov (5) and Gloukh (16) were blocked in promising positions.
Sturm remained dangerous on the counter-attack in a fast-paced game and almost made it 2:0 in the 18th minute. Otar Kiteishvili almost made the most of Flavius Daniliuc's slip, slamming the ball against the crossbar. The visitors were always on hand defensively at the crucial moment and also gained more of the play after 20 minutes.
It was Gazibegovic who first shot over Alexander Schlager's goal from distance (33'), but eventually made it 2:0. The full-back played the onrushing Aleksa Terzic dizzy and fed Prass, who was lurking in the middle. The 22-year-old dryly chased the assist from his former colleague in the Salzburg youth team into the net to make it 2:0. A short time later, Mika Biereth missed the best chance to make it 2-0, but Schlager kept the upper hand in a one-on-one (37').
Cinel's team, who still had three semi-threatening shots towards the end of the first half, continued to fight hard against the knockout after the restart, but mostly got bogged down in the Blackys' defense. At the back, on the other hand, they repeatedly offered Sturm food for thought, such as in the 56th minute when the stubborn Böving wasted a good chance.
Salzburg, with Sekou Koita in place of Ratkov since the break, were always close to scoring and kept up the pressure. Goalkeeper Vitzeslav Jaros was able to neutralize a double chance from Gloukh and Joker Nene (68'), but shortly afterwards he was beaten. Nene only had to keep his foot out after a solo run by the highly visible Gloukh in the five-man box.
Sturm were now wobbling, struggling with their own physicality and, despite a few changes, had little to counter the furious attacks of the Bulls. Konate finally rewarded their willpower with the goal that almost turned the game into a win. However, Jaros was on hand to save a shot from Roko Simic (88') and Baidoo's supposed 3:2 was disallowed for offside (89').
Here are more pictures of the game:
The final score:
Red Bull Salzburg - Sturm Graz 2:2 (0:2)
Wals-Siezenheim, 17,062 (sold out) Red Bull Arena, SR Lechner
Goals: 0:1 (1.) Prass, 0:2 (34.) Prass, 1:2 (72.) Nene, 2:2 (82.) Konate
Salzburg: Schlager - Daniliuc (66. Guindo), Solet, Baidoo, Terzic - Bidstrup, Diambou (66. Nene), Gloukh, Sucic - Ratkov (46. Koita), Konate (88. Simic)
Storm: Jaros - Gazibegovic (80. Johnston), Affengruber, Wüthrich, Lavalee - Gorenc Stankovic - Horvat, Kiteishvili (69. Hierländer), Prass (80. Geyrhofer) - Böving (70. Camara), Biereth (59. Jatta)
Yellow cards: Solet and Kiteishvili
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