Hoff Thorup: "I prefer to lose our way"

Major defensive shortcomings

The Viennese had actually intended to keep a particularly close eye on Salzburg striker Haris Tabakovic and not let him develop; ultimately, the Bosnian was almost invited to score with his two goals.

"If you defend the way we did today, it's not enough. If you're always a meter too late, you won't get any points here," was the bitter conclusion from left-back Jannes Horn.

Hoff Thorup adds: "There were too many defensive moments where we had problems, where we didn't bring enough physicality into the duels and didn't track the runs. A good team like Salzburg punishes you for that."

Hoff Thorup: "We don't want to be that kind of team"

The Dane had exclusively positive experiences with Salzburg before Wednesday - Rapid had won all three duels since he took office with a 1-0 score.

The Hütteldorfer, who always played with a back three in these matches, impressed with a strong defense, but sometimes also appeared quite destructive.

"Back then, we were at a different point with the team. In the first home game, we didn't have many chances, we only defended. We don't want to do it that way, we don't want to be that kind of team," Hoff Thorup clarifies.

Ich verliere lieber einmal so und kriege eine richtige Watschn, als dass ich fünf Mal 0:1 verliere.

Jannes Horn

Horn explains, fittingly: "I'd rather lose like this once and get a proper thrashing than lose 0-1 five times."

While his coach doesn't endorse this statement, he can understand his left-back's logic: "I don't prefer to lose games 1-5, but I prefer to lose our way."

What hurts Hoff Thorup the most

Much more than the defensive shortcomings, what truly annoys Hoff Thorup is how poorly his team finished their well-executed attacks.

"I'm disappointed that we couldn't create more danger from the good moments we had. That hurts me the most about our performance. We can lose, but not so decisively," says the 37-year-old.

That defeat in Salzburg was Rapid's first of the 2026/27 season in regular time; in the Conference League playoff, they only lost to Hearts in a penalty shootout.

Seidl: "The start to the season was good nonetheless"

test — Der Spirit bei Rapid passt trotz der schweren Rückschläge der letzten Woche
Foto: ©GEPA

The past week, with the extremely bitter European exit, the convincing victory against Sturm, and now the clear defeat in the city of Mozart, was one "that shows what football is like," smiles Hoff Thorup.

Despite the mixed last few days, Rapid's camp doesn't want to let the start of the season be talked down.

"I would say it was good. Of course, losing by such a margin as today is not ideal. But if we get back on track now, and especially become more consistent in pressing, things will quickly improve again," promises captain Matthias Seidl.

Here's the situation regarding a new defensive midfielder

A new signing in the thinly staffed defensive midfield could also bring quick improvement. According to LAOLA1 information, they intend to strengthen this position by the transfer deadline at 5 PM.

In any case, Hoff Thorup makes no big secret of the fact that he would still like a proper defensive midfielder in his team: "We saw today where we need reinforcement if we want to compete for the top spots in this league."