Junuzovic shoots Salzburg to win against Rapid
With a goal by the outgoing veteran Zlatko Junuzovic in added time, series champions Red Bull Salzburg once again won against Rapid.
Zlatko Junuzovic was Salzburg’s match winner against Rapid.
APA/Krug photo
Rapid again had nothing to gain in the Red Bull Arena. The Hütteldorfer held a 1-1 draw against Salzburg on Sunday evening until added time, conceded in the 94th minute through a goal by the veteran Junuzovic, but still the eighth away defeat against the “Bullen” in a row. After the third round of the Bundesliga championship group, coach Matthias Jaissle’s team is twelve points ahead of pursuer Sturm Graz.
Matchday 25 – Master Group
Rapid is still fourth, but the gap to second place, which entitles them to start in the Champions League qualification, has already increased to five points. For Hütteldorfer it was the first away defeat under coach Ferdinand Feldhofer and the first defeat after five games. As in the previous season duels with Salzburg (0: 2, 1: 2), it was bitter for the Viennese that the decision was made late. Salzburg is now nine games undefeated. Sucic’s opening goal (17′) in front of 15,217 spectators was pulled out of nowhere by Druijf (52′).
The ailing Aaronson is missing from Salzburg, Adeyemi is only on the bench at the beginning. Compared to the Vienna derby, Rapid relied on three defensive midfielders, Grahovac moved into the starting lineup instead of the last sick Demir, who was not in the squad. The second change was at right-back, where Schick replaced the injured Stojkovic. The Viennese went about their work aggressively before the break, but faced an avalanche of chances from home.
Sucic (6th) and Adamu (13th) indicated their danger early on. Four minutes later, after an action started by goalie Köhn, Sucic was not occupied after several stations and his left-footed shot from around 20 meters landed exactly in the far corner. After that, Hedl excelled in shots by Okafor (22nd) and Adamu (34th). Okafor with the outside instep (33′) and Capaldo (45’+2′) missed further top chances.
Rapid in the finish with a change of system
After the restart, the picture continued for the time being, this time Seiwald (48th) failed to score a second goal. That quickly paid off. Rapid came back into the game completely out of nowhere. A Moormann cross could only be clarified insufficiently, then Zimmermann and Knasmüllner, who had been substituted at the break, were not attacked well enough and Druijf completed the goal confidently in the penalty area. Suddenly the party offender was, even if Salzburg set the tone. Capaldo aimed wide (56′), on the other side a Druijf shot was deflected into the corner after a nice counterattack (63′).
Capaldo, who was always extremely dangerous on the offensive, was also unable to convert two chances within a minute (74th). Rapid relied on a five-man chain in the finish, which also did a good job until injury time. However, a blunder in the finish robbed the guests of the fruits of their labor. Two Rapidlers didn’t get the ball away in a duel with Kristensen and Junuzovic, who had just been substituted on, slipped the ball over the line from close range. Ironically, that actor who is no longer in demand for the coming season became a hero.
Knasmüllner almost equalized in the last action, but shot over it (97th). Salzburg thus won for the tenth time in the last eleven duels. With that, Jaissle extends his league starting record with a 20th win in 25 games. The 20 successes in 25 games is also an overall league best in the three-point era. Rapid continues at home against WAC, Salzburg in Klagenfurt.