Europa League: Fearless LASK faces Tottenham

LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer announced a courageous approach. “We will not bow down and freeze in amazement. At the end of the day I would be very happy if Mourinho was very unhappy, because then we would have made them a difficult night. “

The Linzers didn’t really draw a 3-0 draw in London, but according to Tottenham manager José Mourinho, it’s no longer relevant to Thursday: “We beat them relatively easily at home, but this game, I know them very well. well, it doesn’t reflect the balance of power between the two teams. I still refer to LASK as our strongest opponent in the group. “

Difficult company

With a 2-0 home loss to Antwerp the previous week, the pendulum in Group J has swung at Linz’s disadvantage. Antwerp and Tottenham have a plus of three points in LASK (six points) before the penultimate game. In the event of a draw with the Belgians, the Linzers would re-qualify due to the direct comparison lost. Finally, LASK will be invited to Bulgarian champion Ludogorez Razgrad, who had not yet received any points.

Mourinho referred to the upcoming match against LASK on his own initiative, after the British press ahead of the London derby against Arsenal was particularly interested in personnel issues such as the absence of striker Harry Kane from training on Wednesday. The England forward shouldn’t be flying to Linz like Carlos Vinicius, Erik Lamela and Toby Alderweireld. “All injured,” was the brief comment from well-known tactician Mourinho, who at least gave Kane a chance to play in the Arsenal game.

For Thalhammer it does not matter, he feels a designation of “B-Elf” in relation to Tottenham as “disrespectful”, “because Tottenham does not have B-Team and that also reduces our focus a bit,” said the coach. “I think my team needs an excellent performance, regardless of the players Tottenham come with.”

Painful failures

Especially since his troops are far from being able to compete with the best cast. The rock of defense Gernot Trauner is fouled with a red suspension as a potential replacement, Petar Filipovic, following a hip injury. And offensive forces are also lacking: Marko Raguz’s long-term failure (cruciate ligament tear) has now been joined by left winger Husein Balic, who is said to have injured his ankle with the ÖFB team against Luxembourg and is now out after two more missions for Linz. Andreas Gruber, the last sick man, is back in shape.

The so-called supplementary spots have to step into the gap and prove themselves against world coach Mourinho. Thalhammer left open who should replace Trauner. “I have a choice in my head that I don’t want to reveal.” They want to replace team player ÖFB, whose absence was significant in the game against Rapid, for example. “It’s clear how good and important Gernot is to us,” said James Holland. “He is a great player, but our star is the team.”

Together, according to their coach Tottenham, the Linzers should allow for as little development as possible. “If you can put pressure on our defense with the ball on your foot, then you will be really dangerous,” said Thalhammer, who in turn wants to “push the opponent as much as possible.”

“We have nothing else to lose”

Promising situations would have to be played better than in London and, above all, fast: “Of course it is like this: if we win the ball in the Austrian league, the passing windows are open longer. Against Tottenham, these windows where we can play are only open for a short time, ”said Thalhammer. According to Holland, LASK is no longer under pressure. “We have nothing else to lose. We have to act with this mentality. “