Bitter, bitter, bitter

Lightning-red against Rapid player Grgic in the 4th minute!

Lukas Grgić

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Bitter, bitter, bitter - SK Rapid's European Cup appearance at Sporting Braga couldn't have started much worse! First, neo-striker Dion Beljo missed a 1000% chance to make it 1:0 for the green and whites after just 52 seconds and a few moments later Lukas Grgić committed a red foul ...

What happened: In a tackle in midfield, Rapids six-man Grgić was a touch too late and brought down Braga's Rodrigo Zalazar. Referee Mykola Balakin initially acknowledged the foul as an attack from behind with a yellow card - only to decide on a straight red after the VAR intervened.

Rulebook calls for an exclusion
And rightly so - as the video footage showed, the Rapid player had caught the Uruguayan on the Achilles tendon. Undoubtedly without intent to injure, but the rulebook does call for an exclusion for such attacks. Curious: It was the first ever red card in Grgić's career ...

Beljo with a huge chance for Rapid
And the big chance for Rapid? It could have changed the complexion of the game after 52 seconds. Beljo, who had arrived from FC Augsburg in the German Bundesliga before the start of the season, looked to be on course to score when he intercepted a back pass from the Portuguese and then outpaced Braga goalkeeper Matheus.

But instead of slotting in from a half-left position, the Croatian wanted to take a step towards the middle - better safe than sorry. However, the ball bounced off his foot and into the goalmouth. Opportunity missed ...