Salzburg motivated
Lijnders: “Beating the best teams in the world”
The results are good, the rotation principle is working very well: things continue to go according to plan for Red Bull Salzburg under Pepijn Lijnders. After their fifth win in their sixth competitive match and a strong performance, the runners-up could hardly be more confident. They seem well prepared for the first leg of the Champions League play-off against Dynamo Kiev in Lublin, Poland, on Wednesday. At LASK, on the other hand, who lost 1-0 at home, the results are not yet matching up.
"Rotation is very important at this stage. We have a very good squad and it's important to rotate," said Salzburg's managing director Stephan Reiter. From the start of the season - the 6:0 in the ÖFB Cup in Dornbirn - until the international break after September 1, the "Bullen" will have played nine competitive matches. Thanks to their participation in a European league phase, there will also be very regular English weeks in the fall.
"We have to spread the load across different players. The substitutes are also very much in demand, they currently bring a lot of energy and pace to the team," said Lijnders. On Saturday in the Raiffeisen Arena, Oscar Gloukh shone as the assist provider and Moussa Yeo as the goalscorer just a few minutes after coming on as a substitute after just over an hour. Other key players, Mads Bidstrup and Amar Dedic, were also rested for long periods. "We wanted to make the difference when we came in, and we did that. But the boys before that also did well, everything is going well," said Bidstrup.
High goals for Salzburg
Former Jürgen Klopp assistant Lijnders played a big part in this. "The big difference is that we are now one team. We had a good preparation, the atmosphere is so good," explained the midfielder. According to reports, this was often not the case last season, which was one of the reasons why they missed out on the championship title. This, in turn, has had a positive effect on the new start. "The players are hungry for success," emphasized Lijnders.
He has set himself very high goals. "We want to become the team that can beat the best teams in the world. We're not there yet, but we're the crazy lads from Salzburg," Salzburg's coach said in an interview with Sky. It was only the second time this season that Salzburg have played to nil at LASK. "That was very important for us," emphasized Lijnders. Against Twente on Tuesday, they only drew 3-3 after taking a 3-1 lead. "Against Twente, we conceded two goals from corner kicks. We reacted to that and changed things. It's important that we looked solid there," analyzed the 41-year-old.
"That's why we love soccer"
Thanks to the promotion, Kiev now awaits in the battle for a ticket in the "premier class". According to Lijnders, he hadn't given Kiev "a second thought" so far. "We've had a great week, from Monday we'll be thinking about the play-off," said Lijnders. The players have Sunday off so they can switch off.
Reiter was already looking ahead a little: "There are no easy opponents in the Champions League play-off. The most important thing is that we have the second leg at home." Before that, Salzburg have a day off in the league, as the home game against Hartberg has been postponed. That works in their favor. They are certainly happy to take the strain of two games a week. "It's so difficult to play every third day, but that's why we love soccer," emphasized Aleksa Terzic.
LASK also has to play in the qualifiers
LASK also face a double burden for the first time as they enter the Europa League play-off at home to FCSB Bucharest on Thursday. "If you challenge Salzburg like that, have the ball more and get more shots on target, you don't have to hide in the next few matches," said coach Thomas Darazs, looking ahead with optimism. The positive reaction from the crowd despite the defeat was great. "I hope we will be able to reward ourselves for such performances in the near future," said Darazs.
That will also be important for him to avoid coming under pressure early on. "In terms of points, it's not enough after three rounds," the LASK coach is aware. Three points and eighth place are not Linz's standard. "It was a step forward, but in the end it's the results that count," said captain Robert Zulj. To achieve this, you need to have a cool head for goal. "At some point, it would be great if we could play the final pass more clinically and let go of the stress in front of goal, take the coffee cup instead of the knife in the mouth and just put the ball in the net instead of shooting at 200 km/h," said Darazs.
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