“We are Salzburg, we belong where we are against, in first place”. Words that were heard from Dominik SzoboszlAi and Mergim Berisha after the 3: 1 (0: 1) in the top duel against LASK, in which the “Bulls” regained the lead in the standings, turned the match in eight minutes, which LASK showed the champions. In which the Linz almost left the stronger impression until the break, after a perfect action through the sixth goal of the season by Johannes Eggestein, who won the header duel against Max Wöber after a cross from Thomas Goiginger, were in the lead from the 28th minute. But after the break Salzburg was able to improve and prove that they are still the strongest team in the league. LASK Vice President Jürgen Werner seemed to have foreseen the turnaround during the break when he admitted: “I wouldn’t mind if the match was over!” At this point, LASK was four points ahead of Salzburg, a little later it’s two points behind.
There was certainly no more intense match than between the two top clubs in eleven rounds. That was already international level. Even if after Salzburg equalized from a counterattack initiated by Zlatko junuzovic via Szoboszlai, who served Patson Daka ideally (picture above), LASK goalkeeper Alexander Schlager helped the champions to take the lead with a bad pass: After a back pass from Philipp Wiesinger, he was not only taken by Daka started, but almost sprinted on, but didn’t even want to knock the ball away, but rather fit a teammate. The attempt became a template for Berisha, who circled the ball almost brilliantly, out of reach for Schlager, into the far corner. Afterwards Schlager also knew that he had made the wrong decision. That couldn’t be repaired. Maybe things would have turned out differently if Salzburg goalkeeper Cican Stankovic hadn’t blocked Goiginger’s shot after a perfect dribble one minute before Salzburg’s lead.
Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch spoke of a perfect mentality game: “We said during the break, this has to be our game, we’ll turn it around. Ten colossal minutes followed, which you can’t beat! ”There were only eight between equalization and lead, but it took 31 until the redeeming 3: 1. Only in stoppage time did Enock Mwepu use the free space after a LASK corner kick Solo over half the field, curled the ball between Schlager’s legs into the net. His first goal of the season. “We have been punished for mistakes that cannot be made against Salzburg”, admitted LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer, “but the defeat won’t throw us off track!” Can that happen to Salzburg because of Szoboszlai’s imminent farewell?
He announced that after the game in the “Sky” interview. When he first said that he would only decide about his future after the next three games with Salzburg. If it really should be three, he would have to wear the Salzburg dress in Altach in January. In truth, he meant the cup hit against Rapid on Wednesday and four days later the duel of the sixteenth-finalists in the Europa League against Wolfsberg. He admitted that shortly afterwards when he said the games before Christmas would be his last for Salzburg. The Szoboszlai from the spring could certainly be more difficult to replace than the Szoboszlai from the last few weeks.
