The leaders of the Bundesliga won 1-0 (0-0) in Carinthia on Sunday and initially extended their lead over their closest rival, Sturm Graz, to seven points. Benjamin Sesko scored the only goal (55th). Sturm was only in action at LASK afterwards (game starts at 5 p.m. / live Sky).
Salzburg had already been established as the king of winter before the game. They only lost two league games in the 2022 calendar year – each with 1: 2 against Sturm. The Bulls have gone 16 games unbeaten in national football since July. The double winner had a hard time in front of 5,933 spectators in Klagenfurt, especially in the first half. More than half a dozen failures and an intense autumn have left their mark, but the Klagenfurt team were unable to capitalize on this this time.
Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle sent the same starting line-up as last week at WAC (2-1). A week before the start of the tournament in Qatar, all four World Cup participants were there: Philipp Köhn, Strahinja Pavlovic, Luka Sucic and Noah Okafor. Junior Adamu again acted behind the strikers, his ÖFB teammates Nicolas Seiwald and Maximilian Wöber in defensive midfield and left in the four-man defense.
Kosmas Gkezos replaced the suspended defender Nicolas Wimmer at Klagenfurt. The hosts did not hide from 5,933 spectators. Markus Pink, with twelve league goals leading the scorers’ list, appeared dangerously in front of Köhn in the 4th minute after Andy Irving’s dream pass. Salzburg had more of a share of the game, but the Carinthians found clearer goals before the break. Pink forced Köhn to do a great job, the Swiss turned the 20-meter shot to the post (31st).
Salzburg only became something of a threat with an Okafor shot (10′) and a Pavlovic header (17′), but Sesko’s individual class was enough after the break. Right-back Amar Dedic was drawn in the middle, after the Bosnian’s pass, the Slovenian Sesko turned in a confined space and scored. It was the future Leipzig striker’s fifth league goal this season. On the other side, Pink, often the sole entertainer on offense, hit the side netting (65′). A second Sesko goal didn’t count because it was offside (78′). Substitute Jonas Arweiler missed the top chance to equalize and placed the ball on the wrong side of the goal net from close range (88′).
Salzburg took revenge for a 2-1 defeat in Klagenfurt in November last year. Austria from Carinthia had scored four points from four games against the top favorites last season, but this season they have not scored in two attempts. Peter Pacult’s team have won just one of their last five league games and suffered three defeats in one draw. Because Wiener Austria lost 1-0 to WAC at home, they still spend the winter in the top 6.
Source: Nachrichten
