Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Salzburg: Bullen remain unbeaten in their fourth Champions League game
Everything is still open in Champions League Group E, but Red Bull Salzburg still have an advantage. The direct duel with Zagreb was won, which can at least decide in the fight for the Europa League place. To experience the spring in the premier class, & to win more points against the two big ones in the group. Chelsea take the lead with a 2-0 win in Milan, while Salzburg are second after drawing 1-1 at Dinamo.
There was a lot to be resolved for Salzburg, who were unable to use an early lead for their purposes. In the 12th minute, Nicolas Seiwald scored after a quick transition. When Dinamo attacked, which was not without danger, the referee’s ideal pass line got in the way and the ball landed at Salzburg, who did not counter-attack perfectly, but successfully played it to an end. Seiwald wasn’t the actual passing partner, but the ball rebounded to the 21-year-old, who shot in dry.
But instead of ensuring peace and order with quality and precision, many mistakes crept into the game of the guests in front of an audience that knew no decibel limits (despite the grandstand being closed due to the danger of collapsing). The ball is quickly lost again and again, the Austrian champions, who sometimes seem too passive, lost control of the game. Dinamo controlled what happened, gained clear advantages and actually deserved it. Robert Ljubicic’s shot was deflected by Srdjan Pavlovic (42′). Oumar Solet had previously defused a number of dangerous offensive actions by the hosts with strong positional play.
The character of the match changed little after the change of sides, Zagreb continued to dominate and also found some goals that were dangerous for Salzburg, but the guests were spared trouble. Coach Matthias Jaissle made a change after an hour, brought on Junior Adamu for Noah Okafor, who was disappointing this time, and Salzburg became more snappy and finally got back in front of the opponent’s goal. In the 74th minute, the visitors knocked, but Luka Sucic’s shot landed on the crossbar.
The game shifted a bit in the opposite direction, Salzburg increased their level of danger. In the 82nd minute, Seiwald had a clear run and his shot was fired by goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. Then Maurits Kjaergaard went through – he aimed over the goal. The game came to a head, Dinamo already had a great free-kick chance after an elbow kick from Pavlovic in injury time, which jumped the crossbar.
Salzburg satisfied with the X
In view of the course of the game and the fact that Salzburg is second in the table, Nicolas Seiwald and Co. could live with the point. “We didn’t get into our pressing, we didn’t find the right triggers, then it will be difficult against Dinamo if they can switch at any time. They did that in the first half in particular because we didn’t get into the game,” said such as the goal scorer. His team-mate Oumar Solet emphasized that he was not “stressed” because “we’re second, we’re still on course” and against Chelsea they want to secure progress in the Champions League.
Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle admitted his team “lost the thread” after a good start. It was not possible to “permanently generate the necessary stress”. He too could live with the point: “If you look at the whole game, he’s fine.”