[ad_1]
Because on Thursday next week LASK will visit Royal Antwerp, the surprising leader of Group J. The Belgians had beaten English favorite Tottenham 1-0 on matchday two. Antwerp leads with a maximum of six points, followed by star coach José Mourinho’s squad now on par with LASK (3).
The Austrian Highs were happy about their 4-3 win, but they were also self-critical. “We did an absolutely superior performance for 70 minutes,” said LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer. “At 4-1 we wanted to kill the opponent and we almost killed ourselves. I think we were also a bit naive in this situation. We wanted too much, that is, to play for the fifth goal, and then we were faced with two counterattacks. That is the aspect we can learn from. “
LASK wins the mob festival against Rasgrad
Linz beat Ludogorez Rasgard 4-3 at home in Group J of the UEFA Europa League.
Even LASK captain Gernot Trauner could not draw a positive conclusion in all respects despite his good performance. “We made life difficult for ourselves again and we risked too much to let the ball run a bit. The opponent was broken, we brought him back into the game, that annoys me a bit. We have to learn from this. But we got three points and therefore the goal, ”Trauner said.
LASK must tremble despite two and three goals ahead
LASK got off to a dream start, leading 2-0 after goals from Husein Balic (2nd) and Andreas Gruber (12th), but Rasgrad stayed close thanks to Elvis Manu (15th). An alleged foul play by head of defense Trauner before 1: 2 did not make this an excuse. “You don’t necessarily have to whistle it,” he said, “because we had enough players behind the ball, the depth protection didn’t work well enough and it shouldn’t happen that it appears so freely just in front of the goal.”
LASK then had the game largely under control, but the Bulgarians demonstrated in phases why they had won the Bulgarian championship nine times in a row and are also regulars in the European group stage.
There are many legionaries in the ranks of Razgrad; Above all, Brazilian Alex Santana and Manu from Holland caused problems for LASK. “If you don’t have the balance, if you think too aggressively, then it’s not easy against this opponent. They are technically very good players with good speed, ”said Thalhammer.
An artistic goal by Marko Raguz (35th) and an own goal by Olivier Vernon after Balic (55th) made for a comfortable 4-1 lead, but Rasgrad responded with goals two and three from Manu. “The point is, you have to play your attacks in a more controlled way,” said Thalhammer, whose team had to play outnumbered after a yellow and red card for Lukas Grgic (73rd).
“Before 2-4 and 3-4, there was a goal kick. We brought too many players forward because we wanted to play for the next goal. There we can learn, that is, to have more control of the game, to act better in the rest of the defense and ideally not to score a goal. So, of course, it was a situation where we had problems again, ”summed up the 50-year-old, who conceded three goals in the twelfth game as LASK coach for the third time.
“Our claim is high”
The former head of the women’s national team also saw a lot of good in her team. “There were very good actions of the game, many things that we have worked for ourselves, also implemented internationally with a high number of hits,” said Thalhammer, who took positive things from the last 20 minutes with the “deserved victory”: ” The team showed their mentality by being outnumbered and they defended it very well. “
The fact that there was more talk about the three goals conceded and their effects after the match was due to the LASK coach “perhaps also because of the questions”, as he stated with a smug smile, but also because “our claim is high, we we face that on our own. ” The challenges are not getting easier: after the difficult guest appearance at Sturm Graz on Sunday in the league, the Linz team will continue with the leader Antwerp.
“Key game” in Antwerp
Tottenhams’ 0: 1 was a surprise for Thalhammer as it was for everyone else, “but Antwerp played well against Rasgrad.” LASK, which has set its sights on advancing to the 16th final, faces a trendsetting game, according to Thalhammer. “I think it will be a key game.”
