Any doubt about the match outcome was nipped in the bud by Samuel Adeniran in the 48th minute. The US striker hammered in the 4-0 – the decisive goal. Afterwards, LASK still missed chances for further goals.
"If I'm looking for a fly in the ointment, it's that we perhaps could have won by an even larger margin," Kühbauer says, referring to the missed opportunities.
Because his team was clearly the better one for the full duration. "There was a huge difference between the two teams today – hats off to my team," the LASK coach remarks.
"Weil wenn wir den machen, dann wird wieder viel herumgeschrieben. Von dem her: Gott sei Dank war es nur ein 4:0.
Captain Sascha Horvath addresses the missed chances on the "ORF" microphone: "Sure, we could have scored more goals."
In the same breath, he emphasizes that the players want to stay grounded – also with regard to the missed opportunity to achieve the sole highest Champions League victory of an Austrian club. "Because if we had done that, then a lot would be written about it again. So: thank God it was only a 4-0," Horvath says with a smile.
The right approach
‘Only’ a 4-0, achieved with a starting eleven that might have come as a bit of a surprise to some beforehand. Without Kalajdzic or Lang, but with Usor and Adeniran up front and Bogarde as a "sweeper and distributor" in midfield.
Kühbauer comments on his starting formation in his usual manner: "It's surprising that I occasionally do think something about it."
What did he think? "That Slovan had shown in the Champions League that they have real problems at the back. That was no different today, to be honest."
For this reason, he deliberately chose the fast option in attack. "Speed is certainly not the worst weapon against a defense that currently cannot defend well."
Kühbauer with great respect for his counterpart
Without a doubt, Slovan head coach Yaya Toure was a special weapon in the past. The Ivorian was one of the best midfielders in the world, winning the Africa Cup, the Champions League, and numerous championships as an active player.
After the match, Kühbauer and Toure spoke for a few moments. About what?
"When you win clearly, I don't want to talk to him about his team," says Kühbauer, who nevertheless had some appreciative words for Yaya Toure the player:
"He was a great, great player. And I believe Yaya Toure would not have been unimportant in his team today. But I think the man deserves respect."
Ahead of BVB and Manchester United
LASK has earned respect not only for the three points but also for their overall performance in this Champions League league phase.
After four rounds, the Linzers are 15th with six points – and thus also ahead of (former) European top clubs like Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid.
"Yes, that means something," says Robert Ljubicic, when asked about it.
Where can it go from here?
As it stands, LASK would make it to the playoffs. However, Kühbauer is not keen on speculating about future scenarios.
Nevertheless, he emphasizes that his team has recently "played really good games" and "collected the six points."
Four more matches – against Bodø/Glimt, Fenerbahce, Real Madrid, and Porto – are still to come.
Kühbauer talks about the two scenarios: "We will do everything we can to draw a conclusion after the league phase and say: Are we part of the pie, or were we part of it and didn't do so badly? And I would prefer the first."
