LASK Narrowly Defeated by Salzburg

Due to the absence of Valon Berisha, who had to sit out due to a minor injury, Lenny Pintor got his first start of the season in the third league match. Although the first 45 minutes in front of 15,700 spectators at the Raiffeisen Arena didn't produce any goals, they offered a high level of entertainment and suspense. LASK initially posed a threat with an inaccurate cross from Moses Usor aimed at the unmarked Marin Ljubicic, but the next scoring opportunities belonged to Salzburg, who began to gain the upper hand. Adam Daghim came close twice—once with a shot into the side netting (16th minute) and once with a header (22nd minute)—but LASK goalkeeper Tobias Lawal didn't need to intervene on either occasion.

As the first half progressed, the Linz team found their rhythm, enjoyed longer periods of possession, and came up with effective solutions to counter the opponent's intense pressing. This led to dangerous moments, with the best chance falling to Robert Zulj, who was denied by RB goalkeeper Janis Blaswich with a first-time shot (28th minute). As a result, the period leading up to halftime increasingly belonged to the Athletes, who grew bolder with each passing minute.

Since Branko Jovicic was already carrying a yellow card, the midfielder remained in the locker room, while European Championship participant and Olympic starter Maksym Talovierov made his season debut. In the minutes following the restart, the Upper Austrians maintained their pressure and even managed to push into the opponent's half at times. During a shot from Sascha Horvath, RB Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich had to stretch to make the save (58th minute), and earlier, the Black and Whites failed to capitalize on a promising numerical advantage. Just at this moment, the visitors from Salzburg struck: substitute Oscar Gloukh set up fellow substitute Moussa Yeo, who slipped past his marker and scored from close range to make it 1-0 (64th minute).

Towards the end, head coach Thomas Darazs switched to a three-man defense, bringing on both Alexis Tibidi and World Cup winner Jérôme Boateng, who made his debut in the Athletes' jersey. The final offensive effort created another top opportunity for Linz after 81 minutes: Marin Ljubicic's shot was blocked in the box, and the ball fell to substitute Adil Taoui, but he missed the target. LASK left no stone unturned, but their efforts went unrewarded, resulting in their second defeat of the season.

LASK – RB Salzburg 0:1 (0:0)
Raiffeisen Arena, 15.700, SR Harkam
Goal: 0:1 Yeo (64.)
Yellow Cards: Ziereis, Jovicic, Tibidi; Daghim

Line-up LASK: Lawal – Bogarde (81. Boateng), Ziereis, Smolcic, Bello – Horvath, Jovicic (46. Talovierov) – Usor (81. Tibidi), Zulj (K), Pintor (69. Taoui) – Ljubicic