Rapid Vienna in Crisis: Next Defeat Against Blau-Weiß Linz
Blau-Weiß Linz has also won the third Bundesliga encounter with Rapid this season. The Upper Austrians secured a 2-1 (1-0) victory in front of their home crowd on Wednesday and are now just one point behind the Green-Whites in sixth place in the table. For Blau-Weiß, it was the first point gain in the championship group, while for Rapid - including the Conference League - it was the third bitter defeat in a row.
Blau-Weiß achieved first victory against Rapid Vienna in championship group
The 36-year-old Ronivaldo capitalized on a gift from Rapid in the 24th minute and scored his 14th goal of the season. The tired-looking Hütteldorf team revealed alarming defensive weaknesses at the Hofmann Personal Stadium, and they were also unlucky with Simon Seidl's 2-0 (47th minute). The first Bundesliga goal by Romeo Amane (74th minute) gave Rapid late hope, but the goal was ultimately just cosmetic.
In the 4th round, Blau-Weiß won 3-0 against Rapid, and in the 15th round, it ended 1-0 for the Linz team. On Sunday (2:30 PM), Rapid has the last chance for revenge. Points are urgently needed to avoid losing fifth place as well.
Klauß saw weak Rapid performance from the stands
Top scorer Ronivaldo, Anderson, and Alem Pasic were back in the starting lineup for Blau-Weiß compared to last Sunday's 0-2 defeat against Sturm Graz. Alexander Schmidt, Oliver Wähling, and Elias Bakatukanda made way for them. At Rapid, captain Matthias Seidl and Ercan Kara took their places on the bench. Lukas Grgic, Louis Schaub, and Lukas Auer returned to the starting eleven, which was arranged in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Robert Klauß, the guest team's coach, had to watch the match from the stands due to a yellow card suspension.
The Linz team allowed Rapid to have their way at the beginning and waited for mistakes. In a potential penalty foul on Rapid attacker Andrija Radulovic, referee Arnes Talic's whistle remained silent. When the hosts had the ball, it usually went forward very quickly and purposefully. After such an attack down the right side, Simon Seidl (18th minute) smashed the ball against the crossbar, with Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl getting a hand on it. Four minutes later, Simon Pirkl hit the post with a direct shot from an Anderson cross.
Fast Attacks by the Linz Team
Due to a major blunder by the Rapid defense, the lead then became a reality: After an extremely risky pass from Hedl to Grgic, Soumaila Diabate snatched the ball and served Ronivaldo, who shot past the goalkeeper into the empty net without hesitation. The great chance to equalize was missed shortly after by Radulovic, the Serbian hit the post in the 29th minute. Schaub (43rd minute) tried with his strong left foot in the penalty area but only hit an opponent.
After the break, Matthias Seidl and Romeo Amane came on for Schaub and Grgic. They saw how Seidl's brother Simon increased the score to 2-0 after a pass from Dobras. The attack was quickly carried out through the middle, with Rapid never gaining control over the ball and the opponent. Radulovic, the most conspicuous Green-White offensive player that day, failed in the 49th minute against Linz goalie Radek Vitek and had to come off shortly after - Guido Burgstaller came on for him. His strike partner Dijon Beljo (61st minute) squandered two high-quality chances in the six-yard box.
Rapid now asserted themselves more energetically in the opponent's half, Amane's goal from outside the penalty area gave additional momentum. In the last 20 minutes, only the Viennese played, the relieving attacks from Blau-Weiß became fewer and less effective. However, the narrow lead also survived the six-minute stoppage time.
(APA/Red)
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