Victory after falling behind

LIVE from 5pm: Red Bull Salzburg against LASK!

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Red Bull Salzburg have slipped even deeper into crisis after the international break. The former serial champions lost their home game of the 14th round against LASK on Saturday by the narrow margin of 1:2 despite their superiority.

Salzburg thus remained winless for the fourth league game in a row and are already 14 points behind leaders Sturm Graz, who have played two games more. Linz, unbeaten in five competitive games, moved two points clear of Salzburg in fourth place.

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Moussa Yeo ended Salzburg's goalless streak in the league in minute 62 and after 336 minutes. An own goal from Karim Konate (73'), who had been unlucky on several occasions, initiated the turnaround, and Maximilian Entrup (88') completed the second flattering victory en suite for coach Markus Schopp's team.

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This completed a circle, as Salzburg had also suffered their last home defeat with a 1-0 loss to LASK on October 21, 2023. They botched their dress rehearsal ahead of the Champions League clash at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Linz, on the other hand, boosted their confidence ahead of Thursday's clash with Banja Luka in the Conference League, although their injury problems also increased.

Strong start from Salzburg
It was clear from the start that Salzburg wanted to show a reaction after their recent poor league performances. The new 4-2-3-1 formation was good for the home side's play. They could have taken the lead after just 1:57 minutes, but Konate failed to beat LASK goalkeeper Jörg Siebenhandl with an attempted lob after a Piatkowski pass and a Smolcic positioning error. It was also Konate who headed over the goal after a Terzic cross (14').

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Linz were only dangerous in front of goal once before the break, when a header from Entrup went over (18'). The ex-Hartberg man almost turned the game on its head. Otherwise it was almost all Salzburg playing, but as the first half progressed the hosts had much more trouble getting into the crucial area as Linz dropped back deeper and deeper and no longer took any risks. Only shortly before the break did Yeo (45) and Dorgele's Nene (45.+1) narrowly miss the target.

Schopp also had to replace the blistered Sascha Horvath at the break, after Branko Jovicic had already left the pitch injured. A short time later, the injured former Salzburg player Valon Berisha was also forced off. There was little change to the game, with the home side continuing to dictate proceedings, but were still unlucky with their finishing. Konate missed another headed chance after a Terzic cross (52') and a header from Amar Dedic hit the outside of the net (57').

Konate very unlucky
The spell was broken in the 62nd minute. After a short corner and an ideal pass from Dedic to the unmarked Yeo, the latter was able to gather the ball and shoot into the corner. Konate should have sealed the game, but once again missed his chance, although he could have played the ball in (70'). A short time later, the evening became even more bitter for the striker, who was unlucky with his finishing. After a Flecker free-kick, Hrvoje Smolcic headed the ball into the middle, where Konate steered the ball into his own goal with his knee.

But it got even worse on the newly laid turf. After Ljubicic's lofted pass to Entrup, the LASK striker became the match-winner. LASK thus took revenge for the 1-0 home defeat. After a 0-0 draw against WAC, a 0-0 draw against GAK and most recently a 0-2 draw at Blau-Weiß Linz, Salzburg were once again without a win at national level. The criticism of coach Pepijn Lijnders will not diminish with such a record.

Red Bull Salzburg - LASK 1:2 (0:0)

Wals-Siezenheim, Red Bull Arena, 9145 spectators, SR Semler.

Goals: 1:0 (62') Yeo, 1:1 (73') Konate (own goal), 1:2 (88') Entrup

Salzburg: Schlager - Dedic, Piatkowski, S. Baidoo, Terzic (89. Guindo) - Bidstrup (81. Bajcetic), Gourna-Douath (89. Capaldo) - Nene (81. Clark), Gloukh, Yeo - Konate (81. Ratkov)

LASK: Siebenhandl - Stojkovic, Ziereis, Smolcic, Bello - Bogarde, B. Jovicic (37. Flecker) - Horvath (46. Talowjerow), Zulj (55. Ljubicic), Berisha (55. Mustapha) - Entrup (93. Sulzner)

Yellow cards: Yeo and Schopp (coach)