Clinical and effective

FC Red Bull Salzburg

·27 January 2021

Clinical and effective

It was a clinical, glossy showing. Our performance against SV Ried marked an improvement on our first match of 2021 in Altach and sends a statement to our title race rivals.

match summary

On hearing the familiar tones of Thunderstruck as our players entered the field, we had that wonderful feeling of being back home. Our first game in Salzburg in 2021 had a bright start. Our Red Bulls, with four changes today, wanted to go on the attack right away. The two new signings, Bernardo and Brenden Aaronsson, both looked lively as we tried to ping the ball behind the Ried defence. The Vikings in their 3-4-3 system were in no mood for niceties and got stuck right into their challenges. Intensity was the watchword, with the referee, Andreas Heiß, penalising five fouls in the opening 10 minutes. It disrupted our flow, of course, with little space for our creative endeavours. We needed some moments of inspiration, which Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen duly provided. Having gone close a few minutes previously, Kristensen received the ball from the American just outside the box and slotted it right into the left corner of the net (15').

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Most of our promising attacks continued to go down the same right side. Aaronson was the centre of another attack that led to a corner, and Patson Daka was unable to guide the ball in from a very promising position. The game was only going in one direction, however. Asides from one or two rare attacks, Ried could only try to stop us with challenges. The second goal seemed only a matter of time. It came after 29 minutes, as Junuzovic swung a corner in and Koita headed into the net (29').

While Ried managed to keep us penned in midfield for a while, our sharp attacking led us to strike once more before the break. Patson Daka sped through the defence soon after we won the ball and was put one-on-one with Sahin-Radlinger before netting (45'). That ended a clinical half of football from our boys, as we scored three goals with three shots on goal.

Ried coach Muslic made a change at half-time, with Kerhe coming on for Meisl, but little was altered in the pattern of the play. The high intensity started to have an impact. Bernardo wanted to make a challenge but ended up in a Royal Rumble with four opponents and had to be replaced. On for him came Andi Ulmer, and calm came into the match. The only thing getting the coaches off their seats on the touchline were the continued tough challenges, as no notable chances came in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

Jesse sought to inject some impetus into proceedings by bringing on three substitutions. Berisha, Mwepu and Bernede came on for Daka, Aaronson and Camara. There was little immediate difference, but 13 minutes later, Karim Adeyemi's substitution led to the first notable chance in a while that Sahin-Radlinger could save. More opportunities followed. Wöber got a mighty header to a Junuzovic corner, only for the Ried goalkeeper to make an even more stunning save. Enock Mwepu slid a shot on goal minutes later that looked to be going in, but sailed a fraction past the far post. Andi Ulmer and Rasmus Kristensen were also denied.

It remained 3-0 - a comfortable and convincing home win.

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Jesse Marsch:

We played really well, and you could see our playing philosophy really clearly on the pitch, especially in the first half. We can always score goals as we have very good talents in attack. We also showed today that we can keep a clean sheet. The players are also determined to do that, which is a good sign for us.