After their narrow 1-0 win in the first leg, Salzburg made a dreadful start in Cyprus. Bartosz Mazurek did waste an early opportunity, but Pafos soon took control. Lele headed the hosts in front in the 15th minute before Biel doubled the lead with a free kick in the 37th. At that stage, Pafos had completely turned the tie around. Salzburg looked unsettled, struggled to get any grip with their pressing and offered far too little dynamism in possession.
After the break, however, Salzburg were transformed. Substitute Edmund Baidoo injected much-needed energy, but it was Tabakovic who took centre stage. After excellent work from Damir Redzic, the 32-year-old reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 54th minute. Just four minutes later, he converted a penalty after a handball by David Goldar. In the 70th minute, Tabakovic reacted quickest after Baidoo’s effort had been saved and tapped in to make it 3-2, completing a perfect hat-trick in just 16 minutes. Murad Mammadov levelled for Pafos in the 84th minute, but Salzburg held on to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
Tabakovic proves decisive again
The standout figure of the night was unquestionably Tabakovic. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international scored all three Salzburg goals in the return leg after already netting the only goal in the 1-0 home win. All four of Salzburg’s goals in this qualifying round against Pafos therefore came from the same player.
What stood out in particular was the way Tabakovic took responsibility after the break. He remained composed in a crowded penalty area for his first goal, converted the penalty confidently and then showed classic poacher’s instincts for his third.
After the match, however, the striker preferred to focus on the team. “It’s a huge boost for the team,” Tabakovic said, while also stressing the importance of reaching the Europa League league phase.
The 32-year-old is already proving to be a major factor for Salzburg early in the season. In tight matches, he offers qualities that have not always been present in this young squad in recent years: physical presence, experience and, above all, efficiency in front of goal. Those are traits he was also able to sharpen in the German Bundesliga, and a number of pundits already regard the Swiss-born Bosnian as one of the leading candidates to finish as the Austrian Bundesliga’s top scorer.
Röhl finds the right answers at half-time
Head coach Danny Röhl was naturally unhappy with Salzburg’s first-half performance. After conceding early, his side lost control, became too stretched in the press and spent too much time chasing Pafos. Röhl responded with both tactical and personnel changes at the interval, and they had an immediate effect. The opening 20 minutes of the second half belonged almost entirely to the visitors.
“We expected exactly this kind of tough, tight game,” Röhl said after qualification. The German coach felt it was particularly important that his team became more compact and aggressive after the break. At the same time, he stressed that Salzburg cannot afford to become overly dependent on Tabakovic. With Karim Konaté and Yorbe Vertessen also available, Röhl has three very different types of striker at his disposal.
Captain Nikolas Veratschnig was equally open about Salzburg’s problems before the break. He admitted that the team initially struggled with the conditions and atmosphere and adapted too much to the opponent’s style of play. “In the second half, we did it really well,” the right-back said, summing up the clear improvement.
Sweden’s surprise champions await in the playoff
The 3-3 draw and 4-3 aggregate victory take Salzburg into the Europa League playoff, where they will face Mjällby AIF, one of the more remarkable stories in European football in recent years. The surprise Swedish champions of 2025 were eliminated from Champions League qualifying by Slovan Bratislava, losing 4-1 on aggregate. The first leg will be played in Sweden on August 20, with the return fixture in Salzburg one week later.
Whatever happens in that tie, Salzburg are now guaranteed a place in a European league phase — at worst in the UEFA Conference League. Even so, they will go into the tie as favourites against a Mjällby side currently struggling domestically. The Swedes sit 13th in the Allsvenskan and are therefore battling against relegation.
Before then, Salzburg return to Bundesliga action. On Sunday, they travel to WSG Tirol for a 5pm kick-off. Röhl’s side have four points from their opening two league matches following a 1-0 win over Hartberg and a 1-1 draw away to Wolfsberger AC. A second league victory is the target in Innsbruck before attention can shift fully to the playoff against Mjällby.
