NEWS
Sturm's Diakite sends Austria deeper into crisis
The Violets are unhappy with the VAR, but are also too uninspired in their play to challenge Sturm. Sturm safely takes the three points from Vienna.
In the eighth round of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, FK Austria Wien loses 0-2 against SK Sturm Graz.
In a hectic match characterized by long balls, Sturm had the first big chance. Stankovic chipped the ball over the Austria defense into Seidl's path, but Sahin-Radlinger stayed on his feet for a long time and managed to save (5').
On the other side, Eggestein narrowly missed the far corner from a promising position (8'), and shortly after, Handl placed his header from an Eggestein corner too centrally (13').
Diakite scores for the first time before the break
Austria youngster Saljic was the first player to get the ball into the net, but he was clearly offside before his header. The goal was therefore disallowed (16').
Sturm subsequently gained more and more momentum, but Diakite (32'), Stankovic (34'), and Diakite again (37') failed to get the ball into the net.
This only happened just before the break: Saljic lost the ball near the corner flag to Weinhandl, who immediately chipped it towards the far post. Diakite was completely unmarked there and could easily head it in, putting Sturm in the lead with the last action before halftime.
VAR luck for Sturm: From a dive to a penalty
In the second half, Sturm remained the better team. In the 52nd minute, as Diakite tried to dribble past Ranftl into the penalty area, the Sturm player went down.
Initially, referee Walter Altmann showed Diakite a yellow card for a dive, but was then called to the screen by the VAR. After reviewing the video footage, he reversed his decision and awarded Sturm a penalty.
Diakite stepped up himself, converted confidently, and completed his brace from the spot (55').
Another penalty controversy
Austria did make some attacking progress, but continued to struggle to create chances.
It wasn't until the 69th minute that substitute Hettwer became dangerous again, but he chipped the ball just over the goal. For Sturm, Seidl then had a double chance shortly after, but Sahin-Radlinger made two saves (71').
Then in the 77th minute came the controversy for the Violets: Eggestein passed to Ranftl, who, however, received a strong push in the back and therefore missed the goal. The Viennese vehemently demanded a penalty, but were denied by the referee and VAR.
Fifth defeat for Austria
The Violets failed to score again until the final whistle, leaving the score at 0-2 and three points for Sturm.
Sturm stands in fourth place with 14 points, four points behind the leader. For Austria, after their fifth defeat of the season, only tenth place remains with seven points.
