LASK suffers heavy defeat to end the season

Felix Luckeneder had the honor of leading the team as captain in his 165th and final competitive match for Linz. Joining the starting lineup was Sanoussy Ba, who was also bidding farewell, while slightly injured players Sascha Horvath and Adil Taoui, along with the ever-present Andres Andrade, were not included. The match began with a cold shower for LASK in the form of a quick double strike from Salzburg. Following a corner, Tobias Lawal’s clearance fell to an unmarked Sekou Koita, whose attempt was not cleared off the line by Filip Stojkovic (7th minute). Mere seconds later, the ball was in the net again as a deflected pass landed at the feet of Luka Sucic, who made it 2-0.

Despite these two early blows, the athletes, who were playing in a 3-4-3 formation this time, managed to recover well and increasingly appeared in the Bulls' half. Moses Usor tested goalkeeper Timo Horn for the first time after 16 minutes, but Horn and subsequently a second attempt by Marin Ljubicic posed no problems for the RB goalie. Five minutes later, Philipp Ziereis headed in what seemed to be a 1-2 goal, but referee Walter Altmann saw a foul. However, Altmann had no objections four minutes later when Usor fired from just inside 16 meters to score his third goal of the season. While Horn saved a Berisha free-kick shortly before the half-hour mark, the net bulged again on the other side moments later. Strahinja Pavlovic rose highest following a corner to make it 3-1 for the hosts. Their joy over a fourth goal seconds later was muted due to an offside position.

The second half saw the athletes bring in a new player, with Lenny Pintor replacing Filip Stojkovic. Additionally, head coach Thomas Darazs briefly switched to a four-man defense. Despite these changes, Salzburg emerged more dangerous from the break, as the Black and Whites left them too much space that afternoon. The defending champions punished this with more goals: first through a penalty by Sucic (61st minute), then by Karim Konate, who made it 5-1 from close range. Koita completed the half-dozen with a long-range shot after 71 minutes, and Dorgeles Nene capped it off with a goal in the 78th minute, making it 7-1.

This marked the end of an otherwise strong final phase for LASK on a disappointing note. With 17 points accumulated, LASK matched their best performance in the final round from the 2018/19 season. Finishing in third place, the Linz team once again qualified for the Europa League play-offs, scheduled for August 22 and 29. The team now heads into the summer break, and LASK extends congratulations to SK Sturm Graz for winning the championship title.

RB Salzburg – LASK 7:1 (3:1)
RB-Arena, 17.173, Referee Walter Altmann
Goals: 1:0 Koita (7.), 2:0 Sucic (8.), 2:1 Usor (25.), 3:1 Pavlovic (36.), 4:1 Sucic (61./E.), 5:1 Konate (66.), 6:1 Koita (71.), 7:1 Nene (78.)
Yellow cards: Daniliuc (45.+3), Simic (49.); Flecker (45.+3)

Line-up LASK: Lawal – Stojkovic (46. Pintor), Ziereis, Luckeneder (K/88. Wimhofer) – Ba, Talovierov, Berisha (75. Copado), Bello – Usor (68. Jovicic), Ljubicic (88. Havel), Flecker