Nothing gained against Austria Vienna

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·6 febbraio 2026

Nothing gained against Austria Vienna

Disappointing home defeat

After close to 12 years unbeaten at home against Austria Vienna, our Red Bulls lost tonight. We didn't create enough chances or defend with the necessary firmness throughout as we slipped behind. Despite increasing our attacking efforts, we were unable to claim a result.

Match summary

Under the lights in Salzburg it was the Violets under Fischer who were the first to make their presence felt, but Alex Schlager was able to parry his shot on the rebound (7'). After an initial misstep or two, our lads found their way into the match. Kerim Alajbegovic tried his luck from distance, but his powerful shot from 17 meters was blocked (12'). Long-range shots were proving to be a worthy tactic at this stage, as the visitors sat deep for long stretches and effectively closed off their own half. Going forward, Stephan Helm's team continued to launch counter-attacks – and one of them would prove particularly painful: Fischer set up Barry, who had initiated the move himself, and whose curling shot into the far corner left Schlager helpless (21').

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It got even more worse, because after a corner taken by Saljic, the ball fell to Eggestein, who simply had to tap it in for 0-2 (24'). Our charges showed a quick reaction and immediately probed for a goal back. Edmund Baidoo had two chances to get one, but first he failed to control a cross from Tim Trummer, and then another from Frans Krätzig (26').

A little later, Baidoo was once again in the thick of it – and unfortunately offside. The cheers of the 7,500 fans for what would have made it 1-2 quickly died down (32'). The last chance for our Red Bulls before the break fell to Sota Kitano, who was perfectly set up by Krätzig, but his long-range shot went just wide of the left post (38').

Our side came out for the second half with two changes: Mau Kjaergaard and Moussa Yeo were brought in to inject some fresh impetus, and this immediately paid off. After two Violet players got in each other's way, a well-timed pass from midfield found Baidoo, who charged forward and had a go on goal, but Sahin-Radlinger just managed to get a fingertip to it and tip the ball around the post (52').

Shortly afterwards, Yeo tried his luck after a pass from Krätzig, but the Malian's shot lacked precision (55'). Moments later, Alajbegovic tried one too after Ranftl had lost possession, but his attempt to put the ball into the near corner was thwarted by the visiting goalkeeper (58'). As much as our lads tried, the ball just wouldn't go in today. Even Clement Bischoff couldn't change that - his long-range effort was well-struck but missed the target (78'). The last chance to get on the scoreboard fell to Alajbegovic, but he cut a tired figure as his shot sailed well over the visitors' goal (85').

We now have to to quickly shake off this defeat and refocus so as not to let our league lead slip out of our hands. Our lads will have their next opportunity to secure a vital three points when they travel to face GAK in nine days, on Sunday 15 February.

Views on the game

It was a really disappointing start to the second half of the Bundesliga season. We failed to do what we have shone at in previous matches – being very active and constantly pressing the opponents – that was the feeling from the very beginning. It was clear that things would be difficult after we went 0-2 down against Austria's deep defensive line. We didn't manage to create any clear-cut chances. We have to acknowledge that Austria deserved to win.

Thomas Letsch

Austria executed their game plan well, defended solidly, and scored two goals from two chances. We weren't quick enough against their back five - we should have been sharper. We simply weren't at 100 percent – and that's not enough.

Mads Bidstrup

Match details

Line-ups & substitutions

FC Red Bull Salzburg: Schlager – Trummer (54. Bischoff), Gadou, Schuster, Krätzig (71. Onisiwo) – Bidstrup ©, Diambou (46. Kjaergaard) – Kitano, Alajbegovic – Baidoo, Konate (46. Yeo) Austria Vienna: Sahin-Radlinger – H. Lee (81. Markovic), Dragovic, Plavotic – Ranftl, Maybach (62. Radonjic), Barry (89. Handl), T. Lee – Fischer ©, Saljic (62. Aleksa) – Eggestein ©

Goals: Barry (21.), Eggestein (24.) Attendance: 7,459 Referee: Harald Lechner Yellow cards: Handl (90/Foul)

Injury news

Not available for the match were Takumu Kawamura (knee), John Mellberg (knee) plus Valentin Sulzbacher (calf). Soumaila Diabate and Damir Redzic are out suspended. Yorbe Vertessen is out with an injury suffered in training.