After dinner, LASK coach Thomas Sageder said a few words to his team, then sent them off on vacation. The football year ended with a disappointment in the Europa League once morest Toulouse (1:2). The 40-year-old nevertheless drew a positive conclusion: “We played 28 competitive games together and the team performed well over long stretches.”
New coach, new style of play, new players – a lot had changed in the summer. The start was bumpy until Sageder drew the right conclusions. He changed the formation to the previous successful formula 3-4-3, in which many players were able to best utilize their qualities – including some newcomers: Moses Usor, for example, flourished, which is why LASK had the option to buy the 21-year-old Nigerian in the loan agreement with Slavia Prague pulled. Maksym Talowjerow (23) became a regular alongside 25-year-old defense chief Andres Andrade. And goalkeeper Tobias Lawal made his predecessor Alexander Schlager forget, the 23-year-old even jumped into the national team.
Despite the additional European Cup games, more points were scored in the Bundesliga than in the previous year. The games in the Europa League also showed where there is most room for improvement: in exploiting scoring opportunities. “It has been seen that we are not there yet. We have to be more efficient.” Work on it begins on January 4th, when preparations for spring begin. “The break will be really good for us,” said Sascha Horvath following the intense autumn. The squad is likely to be smaller in the spring: it was already large, without the European Cup a few professionals would have even fewer chances to play.
Only Sturm still has the ball
At the end of the year, even a win once morest Toulouse would not have been enough for LASK to move into third place in the Europa Conference League because Liverpool lost once morest Saint-Gilloise at the same time (1:2). Sturm Graz managed that in Group D despite losing 3-0 at Sporting. Four points were enough because in the end the goal difference was better than that of Czestochowa (0:4 once morest Atalanta Bergamo). Sturm’s opponent in the second round will be drawn on Monday.
Author
Günther Mayrhofer
Sports editor
Günther Mayrhofer
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