2024-10-22 15:15:00
Zagreb coach Nenad Bjelica lost six games out of seven games against the Bulls. The Croatians recently lost in Salzburg.
Soccer runner-up Red Bull Salzburg has been waiting for a home win in the Champions League for two years after the home defeat against Stade Brest on October 1, 2024. Last season the Bulls lost to Real Sociedad, Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan at the Red Bull Arena. In the 2022/23 season there was a draw against AC Milan and a 1:2 against Chelsea. Salzburg’s last victory in a premier class game in front of their home crowd came on October 5, 2022 against Dinamo Zagreb.
Bjelica has never been able to beat bulls
On Wednesday, coach Pepijn Lijnders’ team must win against the Croatians to avoid being nailed to the bottom of the table after the third round of the league phase. The chances of the Bulls getting their first points in the premier class are not bad either. Because the coach of Dinamo Zagreb, Nenad Bjelica, has not yet found a way to defeat Salzburg. Bjelica spent ten years of his playing and coaching career in Austria, and the 53-year-old is still waiting for a win against Salzburg. In seven games as coach of Wolfsberger AC and Wiener Austria, his teams lost six times. He once achieved a 1-1 draw with the WAC.
“We have to score points”
Salzburg were hardly able to convince recently in the league in a 2-1 win against latecomers Altach, but Lijnders was in a better mood before the game than in previous weeks. For the first time, a sentence in German was heard from the Dutchman, who previously only spoke English at press conferences. “We have to score,” said Lijnders with a smile, and then explained how the first win of the current season in the premier class should be achieved: “The spectators in the arena have to see what we want, that we fight for every ball. What “What I expect is that we really fight, together and for every ball. People have to feel the passion from the start. Our pressing and counter-pressing has to be razor-sharp.” However, the Croatians will not be able to defeat only with the support of the fans. Samson Baidoo, Salzburg’s defense chief, knows that they have to work more uncompromisingly defensively than in the two defeats in Prague and against Brest. “Even in bad phases of the game, it is important to act compactly. And it will be necessary for us to be courageous in building up the game,” said Baidoo.
Kjaergaard is celebrating an international comeback
“If you want to win Champions League games, you have to take advantage of your chances,” said Lijnders. The runner-up has not been able to do that so far. It could also have been because Maurits Kjærgaard, the most dangerous midfielder, was not available due to injury. The Dane celebrates his international comeback against Dinamo. This means Salzburg’s chances of getting their first points increase significantly.
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