Salzburg and Sturm pull away from the competition
Salzburg fired off Sturm Graz’s first attack at the top of the Bundesliga. A week before the direct duel in Wals-Siezenheim, the master completed the task at Austria according to the taste of those responsible for sport.
Starting with the youngest eleven in Bundesliga history, Junior Adamu shot Salzburg with a triple pack to make it 3-1. The series champion defended first place against Sturm. However, the people of Graz seem to be prepared for the upcoming hit.
Sturm is looking forward to a cup hit
The runners-up took the momentum with them in the 3-2 win against WAC despite a tired first half. Six furious minutes are enough for three goals and to stop the black home series of seven defeats against WAC. Coach Christian Ilzer was happy to break the “perceived curse on our stadium”. A storm awaits before Salzburg, but there is still an explosive cup final against GAK. Before the first Graz derby in 15 years in front of a sold-out house on Wednesday (6 p.m. / live ORF 1), the “Blackies” chest could hardly be broader.
It took a Sturm-Elf changed in six positions three days after the 2-2 in the Europa League at Lazio Rome to get going. After being 1-0 down at the break, Ilzer (“It was like two halves like day and night”) found the right recipe. “The team needed an experience on the pitch for half a period to check the WAC and then could have gone over it,” said Sturm’s head coach.
In the end, Christian Ilzer was allowed to celebrate
Instead of adding more goals to a thumping victory, the Wolfsbergers came back after a blackout by Ivan Ljubic in the finish, which had no serious consequences. Now a highly motivated GAK is waiting. Albian Ajeti, the goalscorer in the eventual victorious 3:1, registered the explosive nature of the next task. A “very, very special game” is waiting, said the Swiss. “I heard the fans, they’re really excited about the game. We are too and of course we’ll give everything, everything.”
Adamu as the match winner
Salzburg also has a second division team ahead of the league hit. Admira will also face off in the cup on Wednesday. The defending champion could rotate, with Austria Matthias Jaissle sent his strongest team onto the field. With an average age of just 21 years and 109 days, it was also the most recent time in the Bundesliga from the start. Jaissle took note of this and underlined the essentials: “It’s cool to put something so historic on paper. But it’s crucial to bring the performance to the pitch.” The pass from Salzburg’s point of view.
The head of sports was the first to wish well. According to Jaissle, Christoph Freund was “very satisfied” and described the appearance at Austria as one of the best favorites in Vienna in recent years. “We were extremely young, but extremely mature, we did a really good job,” said Freund in the Sky interview. There was extra praise for Adamu, who fought for Noah Okafor’s place in attack after his performance in Zagreb. Castling proved Jaissle right. The 21-year-old scored in the 14th, 74th and 80th minute. “Our strikers have never exploded so extreme in a game. So far they have divided it up well. But it’s nice when one scores three times,” said Freund.
Adamu grabbed the ball after the game and was allowed to rush from interview to interview as the match winner. “I want to continue like this and show the coach that I can score goals,” said the youngster. “We have strong strikers. But I wrote hard,” Adamu also said. For the attacker who grew up in Graz – Adamu played in the GAK youth team for a little over a year – the upcoming duel with Sturm could be a little more special.
In the Salzburg camp, the 1:2 in Graz has not yet been forgotten. The first and so far only defeat of the season should be ironed out. “On Saturday we want to show Graz that we are the best in the league,” stressed Nicolas Seiwald. His trainer foresees the “Challenge”. “We have the focus on us. There is no question that Sturm is doing very well. The coach and the team are marching through the league,” said Jaissle. He himself has always emphasized that the championship title is not a sure-fire success. “We’re on the right track at the moment.”
Schmid locates signs of wear
Salzburg left disappointed hosts behind. Tried again, lost again is the summary at Austria. “It’s always tight. It’s annoying that we lose anyway,” said annoyed Manfred Fischer. The Viennese stay in fifth place. In the middle of the English week, Manfred Schmid detects signs of wear and tear in his team. The trainer of the violets was annoyed about a situation when the score was 1:1, when Austria could not play a three-on-one situation. If Salzburg brought an Okafor to the break, Austria’s squad remains thin, with Schmid asking the question of quality.
“We move with the budget at Hartberg, Ried or anywhere else. Not with Sturm, not with Rapid, not with LASK and certainly not with Salzburg. It’s the difference in the squad when you have four or five strikers that you can always change,” said Schmid, who lost an up-and-coming attacker in Muharem Huskovic with an injury.
“That’s our story, everyone knows our situation. We want to develop the squad and I’ve agreed to do that. But you can see in these games that it’s the little things. In important phases you can see the difference in quality,” stressed Schmid. Austria will find its way back to success on Thursday. In the cup there is a derby at the Wiener Sport-Club from the Regionalliga Ost.