FC Blau-Weiß Linz travelled to Salzburg as a bogey team in the Bundesliga due to an unbeaten series of three competitive matches – in the end, it was the Bulls in particular who taught the Linzers a lesson in their 1:5 defeat.
“In this form, Salzburg was the best team we have played against in the Bundesliga so far,” says Blau-Weiß coach Gerald Scheiblehner, who, despite the successful duels before, knew exactly what his team could expect: “For me, that was no big surprise. Many people believed that it was possible again because we recently won in Salzburg. But as Blau-Weiß, that might only happen once in a lifetime. In this game, you saw what happens when Salzburg has a very good day.”
Almost 80 percent possession, 60 percent won duels, 30 shots or 66 ball actions in the opponent’s penalty area – the statistics also clearly spoke for the superiority of the team from the city of Mozart. The early 1-0 by Conor Noß in the twelfth minute probably spurred the Bulls on even more. Scheiblehner: “The early lead was good for us, but the equalizer came too soon. This could have been avoided. From the 25th minute onwards, Salzburg was definitely superior in all respects. We needed too many players to defend and hardly had any moments to switch play.”
Nevertheless, he did not want to blame his team too much: “We took the lead against an extremely strong opponent, but we still tried everything. I give the team credit for that. Salzburg were simply so good that we had no chance.”
Four-way battle for the title
In this form, Salzburg are once again Scheiblehner’s top favourites for the title – even if the 47-year-old says: “It’s fun to watch a team like that, even if it hurts us a little bit. There was a lot of enthusiasm and passion on the pitch, they are becoming more confident again. But they are very young, which is why I believe that three teams with experience – Sturm, Rapid and LASK – can stand up to them.”
While the team of new coach Pepijn Lijnders continues tomorrow in the Champions League qualification against Twente Enschede (7 p.m.), Blau-Weiß has to play away again and will be visiting newly promoted GAK on Saturday. Despite the heavy defeat in Salzburg, BW coach Scheiblehner is satisfied with the start of the season: “We played a very good game against Austria. We also got through the round in the cup without conceding a goal. That gives us courage. The game against Salzburg was simply a game that can be successful. We are going home with zero points, but several teams will leave here with zero points. We have to get our heads up again and prepare for GAK. Then we hope that GAK is a little worse.”
