Kühbauer: "We won't retreat into our shell"

Stepped off the gas too early

"We started very well. It was somehow inevitable to score the 1-0. Then we simply took our foot off the gas a bit and allowed Salzburg to come at us," lamented LASK coach Dietmar Kühbauer after the match.

It wasn't that LASK physically gave up afterwards. Rather, it seemed as if accuracy was lacking in some decisive moments, while Salzburg, after the early setback, was wide awake in their play against the ball and clinical in front of the opponent's goal. Added to this is the high individual quality of the "Bulls".

Ljubicic: "Currently being punished for small mistakes"

"Football is a game of moments. If you are sloppy in certain areas, you will be punished," Samuel Adeniran analyzed afterwards.

Robert Ljubicic shared the following observation on "Sky": "In the league, we are currently being punished for small mistakes. We have to put a stop to that."

All three Salzburg goals - completed by Haris Tabakovic - resulted from (slight) Linz own errors. "That has plagued us a bit," said Kühbauer, who perceived a more organized and, in the second half, also a deeper-sitting Salzburg than usual.

LASK with 0-0-3 against title rivals

So, this season, LASK has now lost all previous duels against the supposed title contenders Salzburg, Sturm, and Rapid; the gap to the latter, league-leading team is already eight points.

"But it's not like the table is driving me crazy and we are retreating into our shell because of it. There are still so many games left to get to where you want to be," Kühbauer stated.

He is sure: "The other teams at the top will also lose a game at some point. We will be the beneficiaries of that."

In fact, despite one or two unfavourable results in the league, there is currently little to suggest that LASK will not be among the closest circle of title favorites this year as well.

test — Das Privileg, zwei ÖFB-Teamspieler als Joker bringen zu können, haben nur wenige Trainer
Foto: ©GEPA

With the exception of George Bello and Ramiz Harakate, the entire squad is now fit, after Moses Usor also made his starting XI comeback on Sunday following shoulder problems.

Thus, Kühbauer now has four high-quality options for currently only two positions in attack with Sasa Kalajdzic, Christoph Lang, Samuel Adeniran, and Usor.

"My strikers would be starters at many clubs. That's the luxury problem I have," says Kühbauer, who can also envision a return to the system with Kalajdzic as a number ten and two fast attackers in front of him.

Good Schedule to Build Confidence

With the ÖFB Cup derby against SV Ried, the Bundesliga clash with WSG Tirol, and the Champions League match against a struggling Slovan Bratislava - all at home - the next one and a half weeks will be packed with action. The schedule until the next international break, which also includes a Bundesliga away match in Ried, seems manageable.

The signs are therefore good that the "Athletiker" can regain some momentum in the coming weeks with a few consecutive successful results.