“All or nothing” showdown at Salzburg against Seville
Red Bull Salzburg will be runners-up in the final Champions League group stage duel against Sevilla FC. A win or a draw qualifies you for the first time for the round of 16 in the premier class, and a defeat even threatens the entire European Cup.
The people of Mozartstadt want to have a lot to celebrate at the end.
APA / AFP / CRISTINA QUICLER
The starting position is far better than in the last two years. Champion Red Bull Salzburg needs a point in the final group game at home against Sevilla FC on Wednesday to be the first Austrian team to reach the Champions League round of 16. In the extremely balanced Group G anything is possible – in the event of a defeat, in the worst case, even the European Cup. “The constellation is amazing, it couldn’t be more exciting,” said Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle. A tremendous match in front of empty ranks could have saved his team with countable successes in Wolfsburg (1: 2) or Lille (0: 1). The third match ball should now be used. The Bulls go into the group finals behind Lille. With a win and a simultaneous loss of points for the French in Wolfsburg, group victory is still possible.
Champions League group stage
However, Jaissle will not look to the parallel game. “We don’t take part in such arithmetic games at all,” emphasized the German. “We’re going into the game with full focus on breaking something.” The 33-year-old sees his team ready for the “all-or-nothing game”, as he calls it. “We have the ambition to win the game. We want to knock everything out against a top European team. Our aim is definitely to pull the thing.” In the last two CL appearances, Salzburg had a chance of reaching the last sixteen before the last round. In 2019 and 2020, however, a victory would have been necessary in the final home games against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid. Instead, they defeated the two heavyweights with 2-0 defeats and the Bulls moved in the Europa League.
Hapless Adeyemi is supposed to meet again
This time more should look out. “The starting position was worked out by the boys, they should crown that now,” said Jaissle on Tuesday. One of the keys is to “go back to the field with joy and carefree”. With one of these, Salzburg had won seven points from the first three CL games this season. In the past seven competitive games, however, they only have two wins and two draws. Karim Adeyemi was also unlucky recently. The German international striker has only scored one goal in the last eight games. “He knows himself that he wasn’t the Karim in the end like at the beginning of the season,” said Jaissle. “But the boy is so clear that he knows what he has to do better. I am sure that he will be able to ignite again, especially in such a top game.”
Noah Okafor could storm alongside Adeyemi. According to Jaissle, things are not looking bad for the Swiss, who was absent for two weeks due to thigh problems. “It’s going in the right direction.” Before his injury, Okafor was “doing really well”. “I would be very happy if he gave the ‘Go’ tomorrow.” If it does not come, the 18-year-old Benjamin Sesko should start in Lille like two weeks ago. The two most recent CL defeats have brought Salzburg under pressure. At home, the bulls have not yet lost a game under Jaissle. The Salzburg winter could play a role in this. Temperatures below freezing are the order of the day, and light snowfall is also possible. But Seville would have played in colder climates, replied Jaissle. The place is in very good condition. “That’s why I think it’s a very even game.”
Salzburg knows about historic opportunities
The first leg in September in southern Spain ends 1-1. Adeyemi took three penalties but missed one, as did goal scorer Luka Sucic. There is also an internal ranking for penalty takers this time, Jaissle revealed. He didn’t want to announce it. For Seville, veteran Ivan Rakitic also scored from the point in the home game. Salzburg have not yet survived any of the 17 CL games of the Red Bull era without conceding a goal. Jaissle: “It is not easy to keep the zero at such a top level.” If it succeeds against Rakitic and Co. for the first time, the bulls would be in the knockout phase. The round of 16 would bring in UEFA prizes alone 9.6 million euros – not to mention the image boost. Sturm Graz is the only Austrian team to have wintered in the Champions League in 2000/01, back then even as group winners. Instead of a round of 16, a second group stage was held 21 years ago.
The people of Salzburg know about their historic opportunity. “If someone had told us before the start of the season that we would have it in our own hands on the last matchday, we would all have signed it,” said Jaissle. A little pressure can be felt before the most important game of the half season, admitted ÖFB team player Nicolas Seiwald. “But you have to deal with the pressure as a footballer – that only makes us stronger.” Salzburg have already won against Lille (2: 1) and Wolfsburg (3: 1) at home. Due to the corona, however, there is now no support from the audience in the playoff.