Chanceless Salzburgers - "We need to get back to where..."

Röhl: "At least a head taller than us"

The heavily rotated "Rossoneri" gave Salzburg not even a hint of a chance from the start and could even afford to have a few quiet spells during the match.

"Today, AC Milan was at least a head taller than us, and we have to acknowledge that," was coach Danny Röhl's bitter conclusion.

Left-back Dominik Schmid added: "You could see the class difference today."

Two crosses, two quick conceded goals

Twice, the Italian top team exploited Salzburg's right flank early in the encounter, and a simple cross was enough to break open the "Bulls'" defence each time – youngster Alphadjo Cisse gratefully scored a brace in the first half.

"Our box defence was not well organised. Often an inside dribble from the right, then the cross to the far post. We weren't alert enough and weren't in the right body position against our opponents to gain control. That gets punished at this level," Röhl analysed.

It helps little that the "Bulls" were able to win many good, high balls against the Milanese, who often acted somewhat erratically in build-up play.

"I had the feeling that we didn't play a bad game off the ball. We had many high ball recoveries, but far too little came of them," Schmid shook his head.

Salzburg's best chance to get back into the game fell to Jesper Lindström after a terrible misplaced pass by the pressured Ardon Jashari. Former Salzburg player Strahinja Pavlovic managed to block, and in the direct counter-attack, the "Bulls" conceded the 0-3 to triple-scorer Cisse – and the match was effectively over.

test — Das Duell der Trainer-Talente ging klar an Ruben Amorim
Foto: ©GEPA

"When Milan won the ball, they were in the opponent's box within five or six seconds. Every pass was clean; they were able to increase the tempo again and still play flawlessly. That was excellent to see," Röhl said, tipping his hat.

At the same time, in the situation mentioned, there would have been an opportunity to "break up" the counter-attack early, according to the German. Lindström put it succinctly: "We have to commit fouls before they can switch play."

The fact that the goal for the 0-4 final score arose from a grave error by the otherwise so consistent Bartosz Mazurek ultimately fit the picture.

Four years ago, Milan could still be challenged

Wir müssen als Red Bull Salzburg dort hinkommen, solche Mannschaften in Zukunft vor mehr Probleme stellen zu können.

Danny Röhl

Ultimately, a match remained in which Salzburg was as chanceless as rarely before in a European Cup duel.

Just about four years ago, when the "Bulls" met Milan twice in the Champions League group stage, the balance of power looked significantly different.

Back then, Matthias Jaissle's team secured a deserved 1-1 draw at home and suffered an ultimately overstated 0-4 away defeat in a match where the "Bulls" would have needed a win to advance.

"That's where we want to get back to. As Red Bull Salzburg, we need to get to a point where we can pose more problems for such teams in the future. Today, we had few opportunities to do so," Röhl acknowledged.

Röhl: "The defeat will not knock us down"

The 37-year-old took on the mission in the "City of Mozart" to lead Salzburg back to national titles, while also making them significantly more competitive internationally.

Until the major international break, this endeavour largely went according to plan, but now two setbacks occurred with a fortunate 0-0 draw at GAK and the thrashing against Milan.

"We had a very good start, which is why a defeat like this won't knock us down. It will help us to develop even further," Röhl promised.

Decisive weeks ahead

His team now faces quite decisive weeks.

On Sunday in the Bundesliga against Altach and next week away in the Europa League at NK Celje – given Salzburg's high season goals – two mandatory tasks await, before the top match against LASK on the following Sunday.

Röhl does not fear a slump in performance after the recent setbacks: "I'm already looking forward to Sunday because I know my team will react outstandingly."