EL qualifying chance alive
SC Braga v SK Rapid – LIVE from 21:30
SK Rapid are trailing in the Europa League play-off against SC Braga after a game played almost completely outnumbered!
The Viennese lost 2:1 (1:1) to the Portuguese favorites in the first leg on Thursday. Lukas Grgic saw red in the 4th minute in Braga's "rock stadium". Guido Burgstaller (25) took the lead, but the northern Portuguese equalized through Vitor Carvalho (33) and Rodrigo Zalazar (71) finally turned the game around.
Winner of the duel advances to the league phase of the Europa League
It was Rapid's first defeat in their ninth competitive game of the season after seven wins and one draw. Nevertheless, Robert Klauß' team still have a chance of promotion in the second leg at home next Thursday (9pm). The winner will progress to the league phase of the Europa League, while the loser will continue in the Conference League.
Lightning red against Rapid's Grgic in the 4th minute!
The match in front of just under 16,000 spectators was less than two minutes old before it already featured two striking scenes. Braga's Robson Bambu first invited Dion Beljo with a completely unsuccessful back pass - the Croatian, who had replaced Louis Schaub in the European Cup squad, curved around the fit goalkeeper Matheus, but was unable to control the ball in front of the empty goal and missed the huge opportunity. Seconds later, Grgic tackled Zalazar with excessive force. The midfielder was initially shown a yellow card for his kick to the ankle, but Ukrainian referee Mykola Balakin changed his mind after VAR intervention and rightly showed Grgic a straight red.
Rapid were mostly deep in their own half
Klauß' tactical considerations were thus thrown out the window early on. Unlucky Beljo had to come off the pitch and Moritz Oswald took over in midfield. Portugal's fourth-placed team behind Benfica, Sporting and FC Porto sought to exploit their playful advantages. Rapid were mostly deep in their own half, but a well-considered attack gave the Green-Whites the lead.
Carvalho beat Sangare from a corner kick
After a combination down the right, Matthias Seidl found the incoming Burgstaller with an ideal pass and the veteran scored a historic goal: it was the first ever European Cup goal in Rapid's club history in Portugal at the fifth attempt. However, it was not to be the first point. The score lasted less than ten minutes, with Braga equalizing from a loose ball: Carvalho beat Mamadou Sangare from a corner kick and scored with his head. The home side were already without the injured left-back Bruma at this point. Rapid then defended the 1:1 until the break, including one or two dicey situations in front of goalkeeper Niklas Hedl.
Burgstaller's volley goal was just offside
Hedl had the arena's trademark rock wall behind him in the second half. Rapid's wall held initially, partly because the keeper was on hand to stop Braga captain Ricardo Horta (54'). Burgstaller, meanwhile, delivered Rapid's one-man show in attack. The 35-year-old volleyed a free-kick into the net after an hour, but was just offside.
Braga now wanted the win that the strong Zalazar was to give his team. The Uruguayan once again proved his class, finishing after a beautiful ball transfer. Klauß took Burgstaller and Seidl off the pitch shortly afterwards, with Furkan Dursun and Schaub taking over. Maximilan Hofmann would later also help to prevent Braga from scoring again. At least this endeavor was successful.
The result:
SC Braga - SK Rapid 2:1 (1:1)
Braga, Estadio Municipal, 15,868 spectators, SR Balakin (UKR)
Goals: 0:1 (25') Burgstaller, 1:1 (33') Carvalho, 2:1 (71') Zalazar
Red card: Grgic (4th/foul)
Yellow cards: Carvalho, Bambu or Auer, Schaub
Braga: Matheus - Gomez, Bambu, Arrey-Mbi, Marin - Zalazar, Carvalho - Roger (61. A. Horta), R. Horta, Bruma (23. Martinez) - El Ouazzani (61. R. Fernandez)
Rapid: Hedl - Bolla, Cvetkovic, Raux-Yao, Auer - Sangare, Grgic - Seidl (74. Schaub), Jansson (84. Hofmann) - Burgstaller (74. Dursun), Beljo (9. Oswald)
Second leg on August 29 (9 p.m.) in Vienna
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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