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The 2021 calendar year was not necessarily SK Sturm’s.
The Graz team did not get off to a good start to the spring after a near-perfect fall campaign and suffered four defeats in the first six Bundesliga rounds after the turn of the year.
Only the boldest Graz fans would have expected the change to come against the Red Bull Salzburg series champion. After a convincing 2-1 win over the “Bulls” in Klagenfurt (match report >>>), Sturm finally arrived in the spring and immediately had people sit down and take notice with a declaration of war in the form by Ivan Ljubic.
“If you play like this, you can beat any opponent,” the “Sky” scorer said with confidence, making it 2-0.
“Few would have thought we could do that”
In fact, the “Blackies” game at the Wörthersee Stadium looked like the toxic and dangerous football that made Graz so successful in the autumn.
Christian Ilzer’s team pressured the “Bulls” early on with a quick-change game and once again demonstrated solid defense. “It was cold today, we played in a room with a rehearsed corner variant and we did it 1-0. The 2-0 victory was also very important, but the key to the victory was that Berisha lost the great opportunity before the break.” . , the Styrian speaks in the seat assigned to the Salzburg forward.
Although the Grazer took an “unnecessary penalty” according to Ilzer, which Patson Daka converted after the break, nothing stood in the way of the “Blackies” second victory in their second game of the season with Salzburg. Already in the first half of the season the Styrians were able to convince with a 3-1 victory at Red Bull Arena. Ilzer said: “Six points in two games against Salzburg, I think few would have expected us to do it before the season.”
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Additional praise for Schützenauer: “A kind of winner”
Unlike many times in the past, the people of Graz welcomed Salzburg at the alternative stadium in Klagenfurt, this time not with the proverbial line on their pants, but rather bravely confronted the “police” and beat people of Mozart with his own pressure weapons. “We wanted to do everything with total conviction from the first moment and also have the confidence to beat Salzburg for the second time. We achieved this conviction today,” said Christian Ilzer, explaining the match plan.
Tobias Schützenauer also sprayed full conviction on the Grazer Kasten. The Graz number two played his first game of the season from the start in Klagenfurt after the Styrian replaced the excluded Jörg Siebenhandl the week before. The 23-year-old had not played a competitive match since August 2018, but was there when needed and shone against Salzburg as a sure support. Schützenauer just didn’t stand a chance when Patson Daka shot a perfect penalty.
But Schützenauer was not only good for Sturm with his goalkeeping game but also with his mentality. Ilzer sprinkles former ÖFB U21 goalkeeper Rosen: “I told him we wouldn’t lose a game with you. It always happens in practice that it’s an extreme push and the winning kind who gets it, his forwards are active and they keep awake.”
For the upcoming tasks, Siebenhandl will once again guard the storm box, but Schützenauer was recommended against Salzburg for at least one extension of his contract, which expires in the summer.
Will there be a storm again in the glass?
SK Sturm are now the first Austrian team since the 2017/18 season to beat Salzburg twice in one season. The last team to do it was, and this is a surprise, also SK Sturm. The Graz team defeated the “Bulls” 1-0 in the Bundesliga in the 2017/18 season and won the cup final against Mozartstädter at the Wörthersee Stadium in the same season.
A new edition of this duel will take place on Wednesday in the same place, but due to the adverse grass at the Merkur Arena in Graz, the semi-finals between Sturm and Salzburg will take place this time in Klagenfurt. The “Blackies” were able to show on Sunday that they are capable of beating Salzburg. Christian Ilzer doesn’t want to call his team favorites.
“Salzburg are always favorites, there is no discussion. But we have shown in two games that we definitely have the opportunity to challenge a top team. And this is exactly how we will enter on Wednesday,” Ilzer promised.
Text as: © LAOLA1.at
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