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Salzburg won the first leg of the Champions League play-off at Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1. The performance in Israel was not convincing, 15 strong minutes after the restart was enough.
The Salzburg Masters took a big step towards the successful qualification of the Champions League on Tuesday. Coach Jesse Marsch’s team won the first leg of the play-off at Maccabi Tel Aviv after goals from Dominik Szoboszlai (49th) and Masaya Okugawa (57th) 2-1. Maccabi had taken an early lead through Dan Biton (ninth). The return match will take place next Wednesday (9pm).
Last season in Salzburg they really wanted to go to the premier class. The games against Liverpool, Napoli and Genk went down in history as the club reached the Champions League group stage for the first time in the Red Bull era after eleven unsuccessful attempts in qualifying.
As the usual staff change in Wals-Siezenheim did not take place in the summer and only forward Hee-chan Hwang had left the club for Leipzig, the hope for a new edition of the European Festival in autumn was great even before the Start at the empty Bloomfield stadium.
The fact that soccer was played in Tel Aviv on Tuesday is at least curious, perhaps even negligent, given the situation there. Israel is locked up for the second time, and Maccabi opponents are grappling with grave concerns about the crown. A total of nine players were unable to play against Salzburg because they tested positive for Covid-19, two of them the day before the game.
15 strong minutes is enough
With Yonathan Cohen, the Israelis missed their top striker. Maccabi coach Georgios Donis could only count on 17 players. According to UEFA rules, 13 outfield players plus two goalkeepers must be healthy to play a match. The weakening of the Israelis, who practically had to specify a complete team, was enormous, and yet Salzburg had problems with the emergency team in Tel Aviv.
Although the guests started off with enthusiasm and had a lot of possession, the Salzburg favorites didn’t really know what to do with it. Szoboszlai was by far the most conspicuous player in the national league’s primus, he found three chances in the first half (2nd, 15th, 23rd), but they weren’t required. As expected, Maccabi was in his own half, reducing space with a chain of five on defense, and once there was a chance to be active on offense, the Israelis played quickly. After a long pass over Dan Biton Maximilian Wöber couldn’t take any more, Biton passed goalkeeper Cican Stankovic to make it 1-0 (ninth).
Salzburg lacked precision and speed in the attacking third of the first half, and after these first 45 minutes they were reminded of many qualifying matches that ended bitterly in the past. A strong first quarter of an hour after the restart, Salzburg saved this game and brought victory. Goals from Szoboszlai (49th, penalty, after a foul on Patson Daka) and Okugawa (57th) make guests dream of the premier class, especially the replacement of Sekou Koita paid off. The appearance of Salzburg was not convincing, it was very effective.
(“Die Presse”, print edition 09.23.2020)
