The opening goal that Marco Grüll scored on Thursday at Rapids 2-1 against WSG Tirol in the first final game for the last of Austria’s five European Cup places at Innsbruck’s Tivoli was his 20th goal in the Bundesliga. He scored five of them against the Tyroleans, against whom he has scored in every game so far. Three times for Rapid, twice for Ried. Therefore, the green-white hope is high that Grüll will continue this series on Sunday afternoon at the home game in Hütteldorf. When the “Tirol-Schreck” from Salzburg is operational. On Thursday he had to be replaced in the finish and immediately got an ice pack on his right thigh. So until Sunday, the 24-year-old only had regeneration and rest. If he scores his sixth goal in six games against Ried, he would only be the fourth player in Bundesliga history to do so. The first was Kurt Welzl in the 1970s for Sportklub and Wacker Innsbruck against Admira, then Jose Percudani, the Austria legionnaire from Argentina, came between 1988 and 1990 against GAK. Most recently, Red Bull Salzburg’s striker Patson Daka against Hartberg.
The termination without notice for Filip Stojkovic, because he did not watch Rapid on Thursday, but was celebrated by the fans of his former club Red Star at the Serbian cup final in Belgrade, provided the “prelude” to the season finale, which was still unnecessary the big bell was hung will certainly have legal consequences. It looks like four “kids”, as sporting director Zoran Barisic called them, will start in Rapid’s defensive department: two 18-year-olds (Pascal Fallmann, Leopold Querfeld) and two 21-year-olds (Martin Moormann, Jonas Auer). Together with the 29-year-old “Oldie” Kevin Wimmer.
What Rapid Grüll is for WSG Tirol Giacomo Vrioni. If he also scores in his last game, then he is the top scorer with 20 goals. Despite the home defeat, coach Thomas Silberberger still believes in a chance to make the impossible possible, in a miracle from Hütteldorf: “We need two goals in 90 minutes. It’s enough if the first one falls in the 70th minute”. However, if Grüll scores again, then Tyrol needs three goals: “In the relegation games there are almost only away wins” Silberberger hopes to be able to imitate the German examples this week. Hertha BSC Berlin managed to stay up in the Bundesliga in Hamburg, Kaiserslautern with ex-Rapidler Terrence Boyd in Dresden made it into the second division. WSG Tirol has won once in five attempts at the Allianz Stadium. Even 3-0 on December 13, 2020. Of the Tyrolean winners of the time, none of the goalscorers are there on Sunday. Only four remained with goalkeeper Ferdinand Oswald, Fabian Koch, Raffael Behounek and Zan Rogelj. Of Rapid’s losers, only keeper Paul Gartler starts on Sunday, maybe Thorsten Schick. Yusuf Demir will not be there like Thursday. He didn’t get fit, so he didn’t pass the stress test.
