Salzburg has developed into a “lucky bag” this year, from a 2-0 away win in the Champions League at Benfica Lisbon to a 0-1 home defeat against Bundesliga newcomers Blau-Weiß Linz, anything is possible. In Milan, Salzburg couldn’t take a point in the end, but scored points with a solid performance.
“My boys showed a really good performance. If you’re disappointed here against Inter Milano at the end because you didn’t take anything away, you’ve done a lot right,” said Struber after the game. “We were very focused, clear in our playing system. The synchronicity was back. The boys did very well from the first to the last minute against a really strong opponent.”
ZIB-Flash: Bitter defeat for Salzburg (from minute 2:40)
Salzburg were narrowly defeated by top Italian club Inter Milan on matchday three of the Champions League.
The players were also very satisfied with their own performance. “Our performance was top,” said the assist for the equalizer, the Dane Maurits Kjaergaard. Like his coach, goalkeeper Alexander Schlager wants to take the positive with him. “The performance showed what’s inside the team. We’ll take the willingness and will we saw on the pitch with us, store it deep down and then we’ll beat Altach at home on Saturday.”
All-round response to a creative crisis
Salzburg came here in a creative crisis, had not won three games, including two in the league, and had not been inspired recently. Many expected bad things, but Austria’s series champions showed a good reaction against the clear favorites and didn’t let the impressive setting put them off guard.
“We didn’t allow ourselves to be guided by this atmosphere right from the start,” said Struber, who saw Salzburg dominate the game, especially in the first quarter of an hour. “We did well in the opening phase, we just have to finish it better,” said Luka Sucic, referring to Salzburg’s insufficient offensive efforts.
GEPA/Gintare Karpaviciute Salzburg were not distracted by the impressive backdrop at the Stadio San Siro
The team not only benefited from the return of some pillars such as Strahinja Pavlovic and Mads Bistrup, but also from an adaptation. Struber and his support team had changed the formation, Lucas Gourna-Douath and Bistrup now formed a double six, Roko Simic was the solo leader in his place of birth.
“We already played like that against Inter in the summer (friendly match, 3:4, note). “In that sense, it wasn’t all that new for us,” said Sucic, who, like Struber, was happy with the change. “We are flexible, we can vary, the game showed that today too,” said the Salzburg coach, pleased about the implementation.
“A little bit of luck” was missing
Salzburg failed to score a goal in the good opening phase. “It was a good performance from us. With a bit of luck we might even take the lead,” said Schlager, who had to fall back after the hosts’ first good move. A top team like Inter, in the person of veteran Alexis Sanchez, doesn’t need many chances to take the lead. “We had to recover a little after conceding, but we did well and continued to play our game,” said Sucic, who like his colleagues would have liked to have been awarded a penalty shortly before half-time.
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Salzburg is only narrowly defeated by Inter
Simic (“This game helps us grow”) was clearly caught after a corner in the penalty area. “There was a questionable scene – the pictures also suggest that,” said Struber, describing the action at the press conference. Simic himself said he was kept, but here too there was a bit of luck missing. Nobody wanted to make excuses to the referee afterwards. “The referee makes the decisions. If he doesn’t whistle, we’ll continue,” said Simic in the catacombs.
Gloukh scores “exciting goal”
After the break, the same commitment continued, which brought the deserved reward in the form of Gloukh’s goal after a remarkable move. “That was perhaps the most exciting goal of my life,” said the Israeli happily in what was, for well-known reasons, a difficult time for him. “I am happy for Oscar that, despite all the circumstances, he returned to the game with such concentration, was full of energy and took responsibility,” explained Struber. “He’s growing deeper and deeper. He is now a great anchor for goals and successful games.”
APA/Georg Hochmuth Gloukh expressed his joy at the equalizer
But Inter should have the last word, making it 2-1 a little later and then not allowing any chance of equalization. Efficiency is crucial for a young team like Salzburg in a duel with a top team. “We could have scored more goals, but we didn’t. We had three or four big chances, so we have to take one or two,” noted Kjaergaard, who remained positive. “For me it was one of our best games of the year. We have to play like this in the league, then we will win,” emphasized the Dane, whose team is “only” second in the league, four points behind Sturm Graz.
“Everything remains open” for Salzburg
As far as the premier class is concerned, everything boils down to a “final” for third place against Benfica on the last matchday. Inter and Real Sociedad (1-0 in Lisbon) were at half-time with seven points each, while Salzburg (three) is third ahead of Benfica (zero). “We can draw a positive conclusion, even if it could be more in terms of points,” said Schlager. “We are not Manchester City, we have to work for things. There are still three excellent games waiting for us. We’ll try to get everything out of it.”
For Sucic, too, “everything is still open in the group. We will give it our all, I think it will be very close.” Inter will be visiting Salzburg in two weeks. “Inter are a top team, but we showed that we can annoy them. We’re not hiding from any opponent, and we largely succeeded in doing that today.” Struber himself is still far from ticking off promotion to the round of 16: “I don’t trust my boys to do anything in the group because we’re unpleasant. It’s now important to maintain this in all competitions.”
UEFA Champions League, Group D, third matchday
Tuesday:
Inter Milan – Salzburg 2:1 (1:0)
Mailand, St. Syro, 71,825, SR Letexier (FRA);
Torfolge:
1:0 Alexis Sanchez (19.)
1:1 Gloukh (57.)
2:1 Calhanoglu (64th/penalty)
Inter: Sommer – Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni – Dumfries (65./Darmian), Frattesi, Calhanoglu (76./Asllani), Mkhitaryan (46./Barella), Carlos Augusto – Lautaro Martinez (85./Klaassen), Alexis Sanchez ( 65./Thuram)
Salzburg: A. Schlager – Dedic, Solet, Pavlovic, Ulmer – Bidstrup (72nd/Konate), Gourna-Douath (85th/Capaldo) – Sucic, Gloukh (85th/Forson), Kjaergaard (72nd/Nene) – Simic (72nd/Nene) 71./Ratkov)
Yellow cards: Mkhitaryan or Simic, Gourna-Douath, coach Struber
