Football: Rapid Starts with Defeat Against Salzburg in Championship Group
Red Bull Salzburg reinforced their title ambitions in the football Bundesliga at the start of the championship group. The "Bulls" won 2-0 (1-0) at Rapid on Sunday thanks to a double by Yorbe Vertessen (37th, 48th). The gap to leader Austria remains unchanged at four points, while the gap to champion Sturm was reduced to two. Rapid, meanwhile, suffered another setback in front of half-empty stands and will likely have to bury their last hope for the championship title.
Important Days for Rapid
The Green-Whites are already nine points behind the violet city rival in fifth place. Rapid will continue on Friday at Sturm Graz, before the two quarter-final games in the Conference League against Djurgardens and in the midst of this, the Vienna Derby are on the program. Salzburg, which has been unbeaten in eleven league games and was able to win against Rapid for the first time since December 2023, will host Blau-Weiß Linz on Sunday.
The "Bulls" had to digest personnel setbacks before the guest appearance in Hütteldorf. ÖFB national team goalkeeper Alexander Schlager is out for some time due to an adductor injury sustained in training, and the German Janis Blaswich moved into the goal for him. In addition, Oscar Gloukh, the offensive linchpin, was absent due to illness. Rapid had to do without the injured Nikolaus Wurmbrand as well as loud support from the stands. The West Block and the opposite sectors remained empty after the riots in Hartberg.
Salzburg Leading Before the Break
In front of only 11,680 spectators - a clear season low for a green-white home game - a match with open play initially developed. Louis Schaub (3rd minute) and Nenad Cvetkovic (6th minute) were the first to knock on Salzburg's goal, while on the other side, Vertessen missed the biggest opportunity of the early phase. The Belgian failed in a one-on-one against Rapid keeper Niklas Hedl (9th minute).
Subsequently, the action in the penalty areas calmed down a bit. As the game progressed, Salzburg gained more control. Cvetkovic was still able to block a shot from Vertessen for a corner (28th minute), but with the third attempt from the winter newcomer from Union Berlin, the "Bulls" deservedly took the lead. Right-back Leandro Morgalla set it up, and Vertessen volleyed the ball into the corner. The setback awakened Rapid, but chances from Bendeguz Bolla (40th minute), Matthias Seidl (43rd minute), and Dion Bello (45th+1 minute) went unused.
Vertessen Scores a Double
This was punished immediately after the break. Vertessen headed in against the direction of Hedl after a cross from Aleksa Terzic. For the Belgian, it was the fourth goal in the past four games. From then on, Salzburg had everything under control, with Moussa Yeo having another promising chance (62nd minute).
Rapid had little to no offensive impact and made a curious blunder through Lukas Grgic. The Rapid player seemingly missed his own substitution. When he ran back onto the field, referee Alexander Harkam showed him a yellow-red card. Since the substitution had already been formally completed, the team from Hütteldorf was allowed to finish the game with eleven players.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.