LASK's Biggest Weapon?

"See that, huh?" commented a cheerful Sascha Horvath into the "ORF" microphone.

What was it about? LASK's first three goals in their 4-0 home victory against Slovan Bratislava. All three goals were scored from set pieces.

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"We Train a Lot"

That's no coincidence, as Horvath explained: "We train a lot; Max Ritscher (who is responsible for set pieces as assistant coach) also does it with the national team."

Kasper Jörgensen headed in a corner to take the lead and added another goal from a free-kick. Robert Ljubicic also scored the 3-0 after a corner.

Jörgensen, who scored his first brace, spoke all week with set-piece coach Ritscher. "Especially about how I should block. But if the ball then comes to me, I can naturally also score a goal," revealed the right wing-back.

Extra Praise for Ritscher, But Not From Everyone

When asked, Ljubicic gave Ritscher extra praise and emphasized that his input beforehand was crucial for his goal: "He told me to stay a bit longer near the goalkeeper and be active for the rebound - and that paid off."

However, LASK's set-piece threat is nothing new. In the championship season, according to "Fotmob", twelve goals were scored from dead-ball situations. This Bundesliga season, they already have six. This puts the "Stahlstädter" at the top of the league.

Perhaps that's why Didi Kühbauer didn't want to give his assistant extra praise. "No, absolutely not. That's his job," said the head coach in his typical manner.

An Ideal Setup

On the one hand, Ritscher's ideas certainly help LASK with set pieces. On the other hand, there are also a multitude of targets for Horvath's or Moses Usor's corners, as well as Jörgensen's long throw-ins.

Against Slovan, the starting eleven featured six dangerous aerial threats, including Samuel Adeniran, the three central defenders Joao Tornich, Xavier Mbuyamba, Andres Andrade, and Jörgensen himself.

Ljubicic summarized it appropriately: "We know that we have tall players and that we also have players who deliver the ball well, and that paid off today."

However, LASK was anything but harmless from open play. Of course: three goals came from set pieces, but Kühbauer's team also generated 3.05 xG from open play against the Slovaks.