[ad_1]
Salzburg almost got off to a dream start, but Mergim Berisha put his thoughtful conclusion on the bar (2nd). The hosts put their stamp on the game, the goals were scored by the more relaxed guests: Mario Hermoso headed in after a precise free-kick by Yannick Carrasco (39th). After the break, Dominik Szoboszlai missed the great opportunity to equalize (49th), in the shot Carrasco completed the counterattack to the final score (86th).
This means that Sturm Graz remains the only Austrian team to have survived the (first) group stage in the premier class (2000/01). Third in Group A behind favorites Bayern (16) and Atlético (9) and leading the tail of the Moscow league (3), Salzburg (4) will move to the Europa League in February like last season. The sixteenth finals will be drawn on Monday and will be played on February 18 and 25.
ZIB night with Champions League
FC Salzburg missed the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. As in the previous year, the “final” for promotion was lost, this time the Austrian series champions had to admit defeat against the Spanish championship leader Atlético de Madrid with 0: 2 (0: 1).
Again, Salzburg had to wait until December to be able to proclaim its “game of the year.” Almost to this day exactly a year ago, the “Bulls” also had a final for promotion to the round of 16, but had to admit defeat to then-defending CL champion Liverpool 2-0. The game took place here, but with spectators.
Full attack against “wall”
This time also Salzburg needed a surprise. “Now is the time to win against a top opponent,” coach Jesse Marsch said before CL’s twelfth game in the Red Bull era. However, the American had to impersonate midfielder Mohamed Camara due to a penalty, but decided to attack and brought in a third striker in addition to Salzburg’s CL top scorer Mergim Berisha and Sekou Koita with Patson Daka. The Zambian made his comeback at 3-1 in Moscow after a muscle injury.
The offensive power was not only required by the starting position, but also because a “wall” was erected with Atlético. The two-time CL finalist had only conceded two league goals, only Bayern Munich (0: 4) and Salzburg (3: 2) scored more than one goal in a match against the “Colchoneros” (“colchoneros” ) this season .
Compared to the 1-1 draw against Bayern a week ago, Atlético manager Diego Simeone was able to rely on Uruguay’s star forward Luis Suárez after recovering from the coronavirus infection, Felipe replaced injured defender José Giménez.
Berisha meets aluminum from the start
Naturally, he should not fail because of the motivation of Salzburg against this great goal. “Gemma Jungs,” shouted the always loud defender Maximilian Wöber across the empty stadium, the message reaching the front. Koita headed the ball into Berisha’s cannon, the German Under-21 forward let Stefan Savic run into space and carefully placed the ball in the far corner. Top goalkeeper Jan Oblak was already hit, but the ball hit the crossbar (second).
Unsurprisingly, Salzburg took over and raced with the midfield diamond with Berisha at the top and the extremely agile duo Koita and Daka against the sometimes too static five-man string of guests. The home team was in the game from the beginning and presented in a defensive and compact manner. But at least a goal from Salzburg was needed, Koitas Roller didn’t help (15th), Szoboszlai stopped Oblak with a low shot to the corner (16th).
Atlético go ahead after a free kick
Atlético got dangerously ahead for the first time at 20 minutes. Unlike the first leg, this time Marcos Llorente missed his shot after having shot again from the right (24th). Salzburg recorded more deals in half one (and end), but again it wasn’t convincing enough. Daka’s shot after the counterattack ended with a deflection in the off (30th), a corner from Szoboszlai to Junuzovic and his volley missed (32nd).
The Spaniards hardly had any chances outside the match, unless the hosts invited them with a joyous dribble on their own 16, but Wöber’s misstep was corrected by Stankovic, the Salzburg goalkeeper caught Llorente’s Stanglpass (33rd). Six minutes later, Madrid went ahead: after Junuzovic fouled young star Joao Félix, Yannick Carrasco crossed precisely in front of the goal and Mario Hermoso headed into the crowd (39th).
As an alleged penalty against Daka was not rightly punished, despite Salzburg being overweight (8-2 shots on target), the hosts went into halftime in the first half with a deficit.
Szoboszlai gives a great opportunity
The second part started like the first: with Salzburg attacking. First right-back Rasmus Kristensen missed after a free kick with his spinning shot (47.). Two minutes later, Szoboszlai missed Salzburg’s biggest opportunity: the Hungarian, courted by the big clubs, was lucky with the ball after an irresistible start after a brace with Berisha, but just before the 20-year-old Oblak missed him. nerves, as he did against Bayern’s Manuel Neuer, and Szoboszlai turned it off Leder beyond the door on the left (49).
The fact that Salzburg were not yet ready for the CL round of 16 was perhaps also demonstrated by Koita’s second incorrectly thrown ball that night. The Austrian serial champions struggled, but nothing else could be won against the defensive bulwark of the guests that night. Daka aimed much further (56th) or more (58th) – very little.
Carrasco puts an end to it
Otherwise, Atlético had it all under control as time passed with the waning strength of the hosts. Savic sustained his ambitions to reach the CL round of 16 with a tough tackle against Daka, but the defender was given a yellow card for his total lack of understanding (61.). Mwepu again approached the equalizer with a long shot, which went to the outside post (77th).
Marsch brought in Noah Okafor and Karim Adeyemi for the final offense, but Atlético did not let anything burn out and marked the end point on the counter attack. The young Portuguese star Félix first tested Stankovic from a distance (81º), in the counterattack Carrasco took over from a center from “Joker” Ángel Correa that is worth watching from a volley until the final score (86º). Atlético reached the round of 16 for the third time in a row, Salzburg failed like the previous year despite a good performance.
Voices for the game
Jesse March (Salzburg coach): “We represent our football and our mentality very well. We were always there in every match, we played well in this tournament, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough against the best opponents. We saw that Atlético defended deeply and did not need so many chances. You have the necessary quality and experience. “
“But I am very satisfied and proud of my boys. What else can I expect from our team? They did well in terms of running and tactics, we had a lot of advantages, we were in a lot of good situations with and against the ball, unfortunately in the end it wasn’t good enough in this tournament again. “
Rasmus Kristensen (Salzburg defender): “We had four or five great chances in the first half and they only had one standard and they scored the goal. Then it becomes difficult because they are very good at defending. We continued to give everything, we had a good opportunity for ‘Szobo’ to make it 1-1, so maybe it would have been a different game. “
“We were not good enough in front of the door on both sides. We fought really well in all six games, but we only got four points. We won much more, we played very well today, we created so many opportunities and almost none. It is a pity that we are without points and that we have not obtained the result we wanted in this final. “
Zlatko Junuzovic (Salzburg midfielder): “We controlled the whole game, we controlled the rival for more than half an hour. We just have to take advantage of our scoring opportunities and then land a standard goal. You’ve seen that they had respect. They played their game, they stayed behind. “
“My conclusion is that we lost too many scoring opportunities. The greatest experience of Atlético has already prevailed, of course there was also a bit of luck with our pole kicks or 50:50 situations in the penalty area, which sometimes we did not play smart enough, like Atlético with 2 -0. has done. That is a trace of intelligence that we still lack. “
Diego Simeone (Atlético coach): “The first goal was definitely decisive. The first part was very intense, clearly better, from minute 30 it was more or less even. It took them to stop our counterattack. The second half was more even, they had chances, we too “.
“It was not our worst game, we had difficulties, but it was also a tough opponent. Perhaps you can compare the game to our round of 16 against Liverpool last season. We are enjoying the moment of reaching the round of 16. “
Champions League, Group A, matchday six
Wednesday:
Salzburg – Atlético de Madrid 0: 2 (0: 1)
Wals-Siezenheim, SR Taylor (ENG)
Sequence of objectives:
0: 1 Beautiful (39.)
0: 2 Carrasco (86.)
Salzburg: Stankovic – Kristensen, Ramalho, Wöber (89./Onguene), Ulmer – Mwepu (89./Sucic), Junuzovic, Berisha, Szoboszlai (89./Okugawa) – Dhaka (73./Okafor), Koita (79./Adeyemi ))
Athletic: Oblak – Trippier, Savic, Felipe, Hermoso – Llorente (91./Lodi), Koke, Saul Niguez (64./Herrera), Carrasco (89./Lemar) – Suarez (65./Correa), Joao Felix (89. / Torreira)
Yellow cards: Ramalho or Hermoso, Savic, Simeone (coach)
