Three points claimed in Linz

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·06 de dezembro de 2025

Three points claimed in Linz

2-0 win at Blau-Weiß

We are returning from Linz with three valuable - and richly deserved - points. Petar Ratkov and Edmund Baidoo got our goals in a serene 2-0 win!

Match summary

The hosts under interim coach Andreas Gahleitner immediately tried to put us under pressure. The Linz side's first big chance fell to Seidl, who scored twice in the 2-2 draw in our first encounter of the season at the end of August. He received the ball from Reiter in the box but couldn't put it in the net from close range (2').

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The home side continued to play very well and did not allow Bidstrup & Co any space early on – as we still lacked the necessary precision with our final passes.

As the game progressed, our Red Bulls became more creative, increasingly dominating possession and creating dangerous opportunities through Edmund Baidoo – whose powerful long-range shot was just scrambled clear – and Petar Ratkov after a pinpoint pass from Mads Bidstrup (12' and 17').

The consequence of the increasing number of chances was the long-overdue opening goal! Vertessen launched Baidoo down the right flank, who then passed to Petar Ratkov. Pasic's sliding clearance was poor, and the Serbian striker's well-placed shot nestled beautifully into the net off the left post (19').

Bouyed by the goal, our team now threatened Blau-Weiß goalkeeper Baier's goal almost every minute, with Moussa Yeo and Vertessen both having chances to add a second away goal of the evening (23' and 28'). At the other end of the field, the Upper Austrians once again threatened Alex Schlager's goal towards the end of the first half. A free kick from Reiter, which went high and wide (39') plus a well-intentioned but overhit ball to Maier (44') were the best the Linz side could muster.

Thomas Letsch's team largely dictated the play in the second half at the Hofmann Personal Stadium. Yeo had the first of a flurry of chances, but his attempt from a tight angle was brilliantly saved by Baier (49').

While Weissman and his teammates struggled to get into the match, our lads continued to apply pressure. Baidoo found himself in situations where he could extend the lead twice within seconds, but lacked the final touch in front of goal (59')

He showed just how to do it about ten minutes later. After a perfectly weighted pass from our own half from Clement Bischoff – who had come on for the injured Vertessen at the break – the Ghanaian turned on the afterburners, charged towards Baier, and fired a shot. The ball, slightly deflected off the Czech goalkeeper's heel, found the back of the net, and Baidoo's fifth Bundesliga goal made it 2-0 (70'). The hosts tried everything they could towards the end of the match to at least salvage some pride, but a delicate effort from Bumberger in the 82nd minute, which rattled the crossbar, and a powerful shot from Seidl that forced Schlager into a superb save (85') weren't enough to get them on the scoresheet. It therefore remained 2-0 for our boys.

Thanks to today's away win, our Red Bulls maintain their lead in the table before facing WAC at the Red Bull Arena next weekend in the final matchday of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga before the winter break. Before that, however, they have an away game against SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League's Matchday 6, where our lads will be in action on Thursday, 11 December at 9:00 CET at the Europa-Park Stadium.

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There's nothing better than winning. That's why we do this job – it feels great for all of us. After the first ten minutes, we controlled the game and were aggressive. In the second half, we really should have wrapped it up earlier. We're absolutely thrilled to have kept a clean sheet though.

Thomas Letsch

The relief is immense, it was important today. We played with full concentration for 90 minutes – it's not always easy playing away at Blau-Weiß, so I'm really proud! We kept a clean sheet with a solid, focused performance. Now we'll take this confidence with us to Freiburg.

Stefan Lainer

Match summary

Line-ups & substitutions

FC Blau-Weiß Linz: Baier – Pasic, Maranda, Varesi-Strauss © (86. Wetschka) – Briedl, Cvetko (78. Fofana), Pirkl, Reiter (69. Bumberger) – Weissman (69. Ronivaldo), Seidl, Maier (86. Huskovic)

FC Red Bull Salzburg: Schlager – Lainer, Gadou, Schuster, Krätzig (90. Rasmussen) – Diabate, Bidstrup © – Baidoo (83. Trummer), Yeo (76. Kitano), Vertessen (46. Bischoff) – Ratkov (83. Onisiwo)

Goals: Ratkov (19.), Baidoo (70.)

Referee: Jakob Semler

Yellow cards: Pasic (65./Unsporting behaviour), Varesi-Strauss (75./Foul) bzw. Schlager (90.+3/Unsporting behaviour)