Late Defeat against Austria Wien

Three days after the first leg of the European Cup against FCSB Bucharest, head coach Thomas Darazs made three changes to the starting lineup. Filip Stojković replaced the slightly injured Hrvoje Smolčić, and Branko Jovičić and Enis Šafini, who made his Bundesliga debut, also joined the first XI. The Athletiker faced some difficult moments at the start as Austria Vienna applied significant pressure, causing the Linz team to lose possession too quickly. Although a header from Vienna was correctly disallowed for a foul after just a few seconds, Dominik Fitz missed narrowly at the near post after three minutes.

Afterward, the Black and Whites found their footing and had their first chance in the 7th minute when Valon Berisha, set up by Moses Usor, failed to make proper contact with the ball. The Linz defense managed to clear the immediate counterattack. In the 19th minute, the traveling fans had their first reason to cheer. Through effective pressing, the Athletiker forced a turnover in the opponent's box, and Berisha set up Marin Ljubičić, who scored his first goal of the season with his first touch. However, the lead lasted only moments: Andreas Gruber's cross found Maurice Malone, who won the header at the far post to make it 1-1 in the 20th minute. The match remained an open contest, with Linz creating two more chances before halftime through a blocked Usor shot and a Ziereis header.

After the break, the hosts initially got off to a better start, creating more dangerous moments. Jörg Siebenhandl made a brilliant save against Malone, keeping the score level. Around the 55th minute, Coach Darazs made his first changes, bringing Maksym Talovierov and Tomas Galvez into the game. The 19-year-old Manchester City loanee, like Safin, made his Bundesliga debut for LASK. Filip Stojković moved to right-back, while Melayro Bogarde pushed forward into midfield. The game remained on a knife-edge, with both teams having excellent chances: Marin Ljubičić sent the ball over the bar after a lovely combination (60'), and on the other side, Siebenhandl denied Fitz again (66').

The tension remained high in the final phase, with Jerome Boateng and Adil Taoui coming on for Linz. Horvath narrowly missed, while Siebenhandl made another crucial save against Baubakr Barry. Then, three minutes before the end, the late shock: after a short clearance, Manfred Fischer found space in the box and scored to make it 2-1 for Austria Vienna.

FK Austria Wien – LASK 2:1 (1:1)
Generali Arena, 11,788 spectators, Referee: Ciochirca
Goals: 0:1 Ljubičić (19'), 1:1 Malone (20'), 2:1 Fischer (87')
Yellow cards: Fischer; Stojković

Line-up LASK: Siebenhandl – Bogarde (88' Pintor), Ziereis, Stojković, Bello (55' Galvez) – Šafini (55' Talovierov), Jovičić (73' Boateng) – Usor, Horvath, Berisha (73' Taoui) – Ljubičić