Salzburg are Put to the Sword on Sunday

Rapid responded in the best way possible to the deflation of the Cup defeat in midweek, brushing off the challenge of second-placed Salzburg to deal their title-hopes a huge blow, whilst boosting the European ambitions of the Green & Whites with goals from Marco Grüll and Guido Burgstaller, thanks to a starring role from Fally Mayulu.

On Matchday 30 of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga season, SK Rapid hosted Salzburg in Hütteldorf, with both teams in dire need of the three points for their own reasons. The guests had been going through a tough patch of late, which included Rapid’s late equaliser denying them a win on home turf in the last meeting, and with Onur Cinel now in charge, they found themselves in the unusual position of not being in top spot with three rounds to play. Rapid, on the other hand, are embroiled in a battle to finish the season strongly and push up into a good European qualifying position, and a rare win against the defending champions would be the very best way to push on.

With the match underway in summery sunshine on Sunday evening, Rapid - led by captain Guido Burgstaller - immediately set forward Fally Mayulu away to show his pace down the flanks in the early exchanges, but ultimately the start of the game was marked by injuries. Salzburg’s starting keeper Alexander Schlager had not made it past the warm-up, being replaced by Timo Horn between the posts, and for the Green & Whites, Leo Querfeld suffered a nasty landing in the box, and there was a lot of concern from the players nearby (13’). Thankfully, after receiving heavy strapping to his knee, and undergoing an off-field assessment, he was OK to come back on (18’). In the meantime, Rapid had the first real chance on goal, as Mayulu headed a corner kick just over the top (16’), before Salzburg saw a shot fizz past the post at the other end of the field (19’).

The game then fell into a quieter rhythm, with Salzburg attempting to put pressure on the Rapid back line, but as that remained sturdy, all that they could muster was a few shots which curled either wide, over or a combination of both. For the home side, despite some hard running from the likes of Lukas Grgic and Marco Grüll who covered plenty of ground, the team struggled to really settle in the opposing half, aside from a few attempted counter breaks which came to nothing. Burgstaller had a back-post shot blocked in stoppage time, but at half-time, the score was 0-0.

After the interval, Rapid continued to run hard in the game, and early on it paid dividends. Mayulu pressured the Salzburg defence and won a loose bouncing ball, and from the ensuing break down the right flank, a pass was played into the box for Matthias Seidl. As soon as he’d passed the ball himself, he was fouled by Oscar Gloukh, and referee Christian-Petru Ciochirca had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up-stepped Grüll under pressure, and sent the keeper the wrong way: 1-0 (51’)! Just a few minutes later, another break down the right was led by Mayulu; his looping cross was then nodded down into the path of Grüll, who lifted the ball over the keeper and in, but the joy of the fans behind the goal was short-lived as the offside flag soon went up (56’).

Salzburg began to push and press in search of an equaliser, but Niki Hedl in goal had very little to do in the next phase of the game, and instead, the chances came the way of the Green & Whites. Grcic sent a pass spinning forward for Mayulu who took it on well but fired over the bar, but on his next foray forward, things would go a little better! Rapid had to clear from a Salzburg attack, and when the ball was booted down the right for Mayulu, he again showed his speed to leave Mads Bidstrup on the floor, before picking out the right ball across goal for Guido Burgstaller to fire high into the net at close range, for 2-0 (73’)! A lengthy VAR check added some tension, but the goal would stand!

Dominic Vincze came on in the closing stages to make a very memorable Bundesliga debut, and for all that Salzburg tried to get back into the game, this Rapid team found some resilience, and just would not let them get on the board. The final minutes closed out without much goalmouth action, and Rapid had claimed a precious win against the defending champions, the first since 2019! The reaction to the disappointment in midweek could not have been better, and the three points mean that we’re right back in the race to at least secure fourth in the table. GREAT RESPONSE, RAPID!!

 Fotos: GEPA