Coach continues to hope

Lijnders: “Everyone thinks this is the end …”

Coach Pep Lijnders is practising perseverance.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Three games, 0 points, 0:9 goals. The jubilation of making it into the Champions League has finally given way to disillusionment at Salzburg. The 2-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday was one of the disappointments of recent weeks, and once again the Bulls were far from what they had promised at the start of the season. Coach Pep Lijnders then relied on slogans of perseverance. "Everyone thinks this is the end, but it's the start. Let's go!"

His team had actually started the game well in front of 24,018 spectators. "We started very well," said full-back Amar Dedic. However, the Bulls did not create many chances in this phase either. The Croatians' five-man defense did its job well and the home side survived moments of pressing without a scratch. "We were very calm and confident on the ball," explained a satisfied Dinamo coach Nenad Bjelica.

Seven of his previous attempts to defeat Salzburg had gone wrong with the WAC and Vienna Austria. But Wednesday was the day. The Dinamo offense around the young star Martin Baturina, who was in excellent form, repeatedly took advantage of the opportunities for good transfers and combinations and was closer to scoring by the end of the first half. The 1:0 through Sandro Kulenovic shortly after the break came as no surprise. "We were more mature today," said the goalscorer afterwards.

A key word for Lijnders and his young squad, who have only managed 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats in 8 games in the league and CL since the start of September. "We will learn a lot from this, as we have already learned from the last few games," emphasized the former assistant to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. He also highlighted the - fruitless - comeback after goalkeeper Alexander Schlager was sent off in the 66th minute for handball. "Everyone saw how they fought to come back," said Lijnders.

"Big" opponents to come first
Ultimately, however, Salzburg were actually quite far away from their first European Cup home win since October 5, 2022. Nevertheless, Lijnders avoided criticizing his players. "You mustn't forget that these lads have brought us here, they've reached the Champions League for us," said Lijnders - and once again referred to the "talent and potential" of his team. "But we have to make the most of it. We saw in qualifying what they can do when they really work together and play together."

"We will come back and we will be strong," promised the 41-year-old. Either way, the chances of finishing 9th to 24th and advancing to the play-offs are getting smaller and smaller. Especially as the toughest opponents are still to come. Feyenoord Rotterdam await on November 6, followed by Bayer Leverkusen (26.11./away), Paris Saint-Germain (10.12./home), Real Madrid (22.1.2025/a) and Atletico Madrid (29.1./h).