The much acclaimed match winner in front of 23,000 spectators was winger Marco Grüll, who converted a penalty kick in his 100th competitive game for green and white and not only gifted himself. “The atmosphere was incredible. I’ve never experienced such an atmosphere in this stadium,” said Barisic. Goalkeeper Niklas Hedl, who had made excellent saves several times, also spoke of an “extremely great” atmosphere.
The green and white European Cup heroes were celebrated extensively by their own fans long after the final whistle. “What I saw after the game is exactly what I want. It makes me incredibly proud that I was able to witness it,” said Barisic, who wants to keep both feet on the ground.
Decisive hit
Marco Grüll confidently converts a penalty kick and becomes the match winner for Rapid.
Meanwhile, veteran Thorsten Schick addressed the supervisors with words of praise: “We were brave and had a plan. Kudos to the coaching team for how they analyzed it,” said the full-back, who added with a little humor: “It was a normal European Cup game, which you can just do between two Bundesliga games.”
UEFA Conference league
qualification
“It’s only halftime”
Barisic assured after the intense game: “We know that it’s only half time. Our goal was to keep the chances open. I don’t think it’s gotten any worse.” The starting position could definitely be worse against last season’s ECL finalists. In the second leg on Thursday (8:00 p.m., live on ORF1) in Florence, Hütteldorfer can now, somewhat unexpectedly, even defend a lead, and there is also a group phase entry fee of EUR 2.94 million at stake.
“Next week we will start exactly where we left off today,” said 19-year-old central defender Leopold Querfeld. In any case, the Rapiders don’t want to touch concrete. “We can’t really do that either. We want to create the miracle abroad. But if we go there and park two buses, then the quality will probably not work out,” said Schick. Rather, it is important to get your own strengths on the pitch.
APA/Georg Hochmuth Coach Barisic is already focusing on the second leg
Lots of work in the second leg
Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano was not surprised by the resistance in the green and white. “We knew that the opponent was strong,” said the Italian, who announced directly for the showdown in front of the home “Viola” fans in Tuscany: “In the second leg we will give everything. Such duels are decided in 180 minutes or more.” Barisic already knew what the Serie A leaders were planning: “Fiorentina will play with a lot of anger in their stomach, very aggressively and constantly going forward.”
Before the league home game against WSG Tirol on Sunday (5 p.m.), Rapid should be positive about the fact that eleven goals have been scored in the last three competitive games and three clean sheets have been kept. The loss of central defender Nenad Cvetkovic was also not a problem thanks to the strong performance of substitute Maximilian Hofmann. And there is an additional motivation for the second leg in Florence. “It’s always nice to win against Violette,” said Hedl.
