“The past has nothing to do with us”

The second participation in the group stage of the Champions League en suite is within reach of Red Bull Salzburg. With a lot of self-confidence and a 2-1 win in the first leg, the series champions Austria will move on to the second leg against Corona-decimated Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday (9pm / Sky live), also to finally break the curse of qualifying in the premier class. Coach Jesse Marsch didn’t want to know anything about it.

“The past has nothing to do with our team. Our personality and the situation are different from before,” emphasized Marsch at Tuesday’s press conference and brought the first match at Maccabi, where they were 1-0 down in the break, as an example: “Our concentration was good. We did not stress or worry, it was a good mentality. I think this group is ready.”

In the previous year, the championship title brought CL’s automatic group stage spot, at least the club’s declared goal since Red Bull’s entry was achieved in 2005/06. Before that, however, the eleven qualifying attempts ended prematurely, again and again in a curious and bitter way, for example in 2018, when in the second leg of the play-off against Red Star Belgrade, a Despite a 2-0 lead with two goals conceded, it was all lost in 77 seconds.

In autumn 2019, thanks to the premier class duels with Liverpool, Napoli and Genk, came compensation for the misery of previous years’ qualifications. “We had a lot of fun playing at such a high level,” Marsch said. More important is the experience gained, especially for such a young team. “The boys have learned what it takes to play at such a high level,” said the American. Youth should also be seen as a mental advantage before Wednesday’s decision. “Young players are not so scared.”

Junuzovic returns, probably Bernede does not fit

While all the crown tests in the Salzburg field were once again negative, only midfielder Antoine Bernede is missing with a bruise and Zlatko Junuzovic will at least return to the bench after his hamstring, the Israelis have now lost a complete team. In the last ten days, eleven Maccabi kickers passed a positive test, the last case on Monday was offensive Ben Haim, who was substituted in the first leg. However, coach Georgios Donis left for Salzburg on Tuesday with 20 players, some of them young.

“They don’t have that many options, but they are still good players,” Marsch said. “We have to focus on our idea and play our football.” The victory in the first leg, when the 0: 1 was turned around thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai (49th) and Masaya Okugawa (57th), is worth a lot. “Two away goals are very important. But above all, we have the mentality that we also want to win this game and not defend our advantage. We have to go full speed and play aggressively.” And Marsch promised: “We will put pressure on the opponent from the start.”

Thanks to five wins in five competitive matches (goal difference including a 10-0 cup win over Bregenz 22: 4), Salzburg can enter the second leg with a broad chest. “That gives us confidence,” confirmed goalkeeper Patson Daka, who has stopped seven goals this season and also gave an assist in Tel Aviv. “We know we are on the right track,” said the 21-year-old. When asked about the pressure, he too had to answer yes, but: “He’s always there and also motivated to work hard. We want to try to make history.”