Rapid Blow Away Blau Weiß with Five Star Performance

A brilliant away day display in hot conditions saw us record a big win in our first trip to Blau Weiß Linz’s new stadium. Guido Burgstaller’s brace set us on the way to a second 5-0 win in the space of four days on Sunday, as new signings Matthias Seidl and Fally Mayulu both featured against their former club.

Nicolas Kühn and Patrick Greil were ill for our trip to the Blue & White half of Linz on Bundesliga match day 4. Lukas Grgic and Aleksa Pejic also missed out, and so the starting XI remained the same as the one which cruised past Debrecen on Thursday night in UEFA Conference League qualifying.

In brutally hot conditions, both teams needed a bit of time to find their feet, but it was former Blau Weiß fan favourite Matthias Seidl who had the first chance. Nenad Cvetkovic’s header found Seidl in the box, but his shot was just tipped over the top (10’). Two minutes later, Seidl’s key pass out to the right flank opened up space for Moritz Oswald, and his cross sat up nicely for Guido Burgstaller to burst in and win the header in the area and open the scoring. 1-0 to Rapid (12’)! Ten minutes later, Oswald was there once more to thread a ball through the home defence, and Burgstaller was again on the end of it to slot home for 2-0 (22’)!

Oswald himself then added a third with a beautiful overhead kick, but it would unfortunately be chalked off after a VAR review for a handball infringement (25’). The home team were completely on the back foot for the first half, and Rapid were very much in control. Sadly there would be a nasty shock for the Green & Whites though, as Nenad Cvetkovic got his studs caught in the turf and went down injured - we of course wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. Maxi Hofmann came on to replace him in defence as we held the two-goal lead until the break.

The hosts began much brighter after the interval, and even had the ball in the net, but that was also ruled out after a VAR check confirmed a close offside call. Rapid rode out a short period of pressure from the home side, and with the introduction of Ante Bajic and Martin Moormann the Green & Whites got back on top of things. Bajic played in Burgstaller for a big chance, and although his shot was saved, Moormann flicked the resulting corner into the path of Leo Querfeld, who volleyed the ball coolly in at the far post for 3-0 (65’)! Moormann was called into action then at the other end, as his tackle put an end to the best Blau Weiß attack for a while (69’).

Fally Mayulu then came on against his former club, and he spotted a perfect pass in behind for Ante Bajic to clip home the fourth past the keeper; 4-0 to Rapid (80’). Bajic then earned a spot kick for Rapid in stoppage time as his shirt was pulled in the box. Mayulu was given the chance to score his first Bundesliga goal from the spot, and he duly took the opportunity, stroking the ball in for Rapid’s fifth in stoppage time (92’). Bravo Rapid! A brilliant performance builds on the momentum gained in midweek, and now it’s full focus on Fiorentina at home on Thursday, before a meeting with WSG Tirol next weekend!

Fotos: GEPA