Things went far less smoothly for Austria Vienna: the “Violets” lost 2-0 at home to reigning champions LASK and remain without a point – and even without a goal – after two rounds.
Horn gives Rapid the perfect start
Rapid started with far more energy in Ried than they had shown just a few days earlier in their 4-1 win over Paide. Their first well-constructed attack already produced the opening goal in the eighth minute. Yusuf Demir and Matthias Seidl combined before the ball reached Bendegúz Bolla, whose slightly deflected cross fell to Jannes Horn. The left-back struck first time and found the far corner with a low finish. It was Horn’s first Bundesliga goal and only the second of his entire professional career.
The lead initially gave Rapid some security, but the visitors were never truly dominant. Ried competed well physically and grew into the match as it progressed. Rapid controlled many phases in possession, but also produced a number of unnecessary mistakes and failed to score a second goal early on.
That almost came back to haunt them shortly before half-time. Stefan Schwab, Rapid captain from 2017 to 2020 and now playing for Ried, was not closed down properly outside the penalty area and struck with his left foot. The ball crashed against the underside of the crossbar and bounced back into play. A few moments later, Niklas Hedl was called into action again. Rapid managed to take their narrow lead into the break.
Kara misses, Schwab scores
Immediately after the restart, Rapid had two major opportunities to effectively settle the match early. Ercan Kara first missed the target from a promising position after a low cross from Tonni Adamsen and then failed to beat Andreas Leitner a few minutes later. Those missed chances ensured that the game became unnecessarily tense again.
Ried grew in confidence, while Rapid increasingly lost clarity in attack. In the 74th minute, the equaliser came through former Rapid player Schwab of all people. Ante Bajic delivered towards the far post, where the former Rapid captain was given far too much space and powered a header into the net to make it 1-1.
Schwab did not hold back with his celebration. “Of course I will always have respect for Rapid, but joy and emotions are part of it,” the 35-year-old explained after the match.
Ried’s joy lasted only three minutes. Hedl sent a long ball forward, Oliver Steurer failed to notice Moulaye Haidara lurking behind him and the Rapid substitute took full advantage. Haidara controlled the ball, sent his finish in off the inside of the post and restored the lead at 2-1. After scoring twice against Paide, the 20-year-old once again became the match-winner. He has now scored five goals in seven competitive appearances for Rapid.
The numbers show a tight contest in Ried
The statistics confirm that this victory was anything but straightforward. Rapid had 54 per cent possession and registered twelve shots. Ried actually attempted 18 shots and also recorded more touches inside the opposition penalty area, leading 29-20 in that category.
Rapid were only narrowly ahead in Expected Goals, 1.63 to 1.30. The Vienna side created the higher-quality chances, while Ried produced more attempts and forced Hedl into several important saves. The 2-1 victory was therefore far from a display of complete dominance and was primarily the result of greater efficiency in the decisive moments.
Coach Johannes Hoff Thorup also referred to his team’s demanding travel schedule after the match. “That is a mental and character challenge that we have to overcome,” said the Dane about the strain caused by the European trips. He could be satisfied with the result, even though Rapid once again missed chances to decide a match earlier.
Austria celebrate twice in vain
While Rapid remain flawless, Austria Vienna’s Bundesliga campaign has not yet gone according to plan. After the 3-0 defeat away to Wolfsberger AC, the “Violets” also lost their first home league match of the season. LASK won 2-0 in Vienna, even though Austria twice believed they had scored.
Coach Stephan Helm made several changes following the 2-1 European victory over Beitar Jerusalem. Aleksandar Dragovic returned to the starting line-up after recovering from concussion, while Johannes Eggestein was also able to start following his injury lay-off. LASK, meanwhile, fielded exactly the same starting eleven that had beaten GAK 3-0 on the opening weekend.
The champions made the better start and had more of the ball before Austria celebrated for the first time in the 12th minute. Dragovic switched play accurately to Tae-seok Lee, who crossed into the middle. Ibrahim Buhari headed the ball into the net for what appeared to be the opening goal. After a lengthy VAR review, however, Lee was judged to have been in an extremely tight offside position and the goal was disallowed.
An intense but not always high-quality match followed. Austria found several promising transition situations but often played them too slowly or inaccurately. LASK controlled larger parts of the game, but before the break they also struggled to turn their territorial superiority into clear chances.
Andrade puts the champions on course
Shortly after the restart, Austria created their best legitimate opportunity. Sanel Saljic beat his opponent and struck from around 18 metres, but his effort hit the crossbar.
Soon afterwards, LASK took the lead. Sascha Horvath delivered a corner, Samuel Adeniran flicked it on with the back of his head and Andrés Andrade only had to nod the ball in from close range. The 1-0 in the 54th minute reflected the overall pattern of the match, with the visitors reaching dangerous areas far more frequently.
Austria did not give up and believed they had equalised in the 75th minute. Following a poor clearance, the ball struck Kelvin Boateng on the arm and then bounced over Lukas Jungwirth into the net. This goal was also correctly ruled out.
The final decision came shortly afterwards. Adeniran got a shot away inside the penalty area, Dragovic stopped a possible goal with his arm and was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity. Sahin-Radlinger initially saved Moses Usor’s resulting penalty, but the substitute LASK attacker reacted quickest to the rebound and scored the 2-0.
LASK clearly superior statistically
Even though Austria were frustrated by the two disallowed goals, the champions deserved the victory according to the performance data. LASK had 57 per cent possession, attempted 22 shots and recorded 36 touches inside the opposition penalty area. Austria managed only six shots and eight touches in the box.
The Expected Goals figures were even more emphatic: 3.71 to 0.21 in LASK’s favour. The penalty and rebound significantly increased the visitors’ xG total, but the numbers still show how few genuine chances Austria created over the 90 minutes. Saljic’s powerful effort against the crossbar remained the big exception. The offside goal, of course, does not count towards the statistics.
Austria coach Helm nevertheless saw signs of progress: “The performance over long stretches was moving in the right direction.” At the same time, he admitted that LASK generated considerable pressure at times. Kühbauer was not completely satisfied despite the win and said: “We can and must do better.”
Rapid first challengers to LASK, Austria bottom
After two rounds, only LASK and Rapid still have a perfect record. The reigning champions lead the table on goal difference with six points and a 5-0 goal tally, ahead of Rapid, who also have six points. WAC follow with four points, with Salzburg and Sturm behind them. Ried sit eighth with one point.
For Austria, the poor start is complete: two matches, zero points and a 0-5 goal difference currently leave the “Violets” bottom of the table.
Both Vienna clubs now turn their attention back to Europe. Rapid host Paide Linnameeskond on Wednesday, 12 August, at 6 p.m. and take a comfortable 4-1 advantage from the first leg in Tallinn into the return fixture. Austria face Beitar Jerusalem at home on Thursday, 13 August, at 7:30 p.m. After their 2-1 away victory at Beitar’s temporary venue in Romania, a draw will be enough for the “Violets” to reach the Conference League play-offs.
