Europa League: Early Goal Sparks Hope but Villarreal Stops Salzburg

Red Bull Salzburg showed signs of life in Spain against Villarreal but were ultimately defeated 2-1, sending them out of the UEFA Europa League in the round of 32. The loss follows a much better effort which saw Jesse Marsch's club take an early lead but fall to a far more experienced side.

"It's disappointing but we have to say strong," said Marsch after the game. "If we had two performances like today's, we would have had more of a chance. We have to learn from it and keep battling in the league and the cup."

Salzburg came into the game at a disadvantage having dropped the first leg of the fixture 2-0. The loss saddled the Austrian champions with two away-goals and placed pressure on the club to make less mistakes. Early in the game, they did just that. Patson Daka pounced on a bad pass and got the ball to Mergim Berisha. The young German didn't waste his chance, scoring the game's opening goal and giving his team the motivation they desperately needed.

Villarreal responded just before the half when midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic and goalkeeper Cican Stankovic collided when going after a ball. It left an opening for the Spaniard Paco Alcacer who easily put the ball into an empty net.

"We still believed we could do it," said defender Andre Ramalho. "They then closed up in the back, and in the end the small details decided it. It's a shame that we didn't manage it."

The final goal game in the 89th minute when a penalty sealed the deal for Villarreal and sent Salzburg home with an empty feeling after this European campaign. A gutsy effort to make it out of a difficult group in the UEFA Champions League gave way to a lackluster first round in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Marsch and his club were certainly looking for me.

The mission isn't over yet as the Austrian Cup is not solidly in Salzburg's grasp just yet. The club has two consecutive games against SK Sturm Graz both in the league and in the semi-final of the Austrian Cup. Wins in both should revive the team's confidence ahead of another European campaign next season.

Comments

Red Bulls Announce Fan Experience Improvements

by Garry Redman On top of the theme nights announced this season, something new has been added the next time the season ticket holders and supporters step inside The Cathedral... The state-of-the-art LED lighting system at Red Bull Arena will provide higher on-field light levels for enhanced visibility and safety and introduce new entertainment features that heighten the overall experience for spectators. Built around Musco's Total Light Control—TLC for LED™ technology, the new system is designed to provide exceptional playability and uniformity while minimizing glare. Cleaner, whiter light will elevate the broadcast quality for fans watching around the world. Color-changing fixtures and Show-Light® Pro entertainment technology will allow the Red Bulls to wash the stadium in different colors and synchronize light shows to music, heightening the fan experience during goal celebrations, player introductions, and other big moments. If you have no idea what this means, cl...

Quotes: Red Bulls Show Promise, But More Work Need To Be Done

photo by Matt Kremkau Sixty seconds in a ninety-minute match. That’s all it took for Sporting Kansas City to ruin the Opening Day festivities at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The supporters in attendance saw crisp passing and a stout defense that kept the visitors at bay, despite not having striker Alan Pulido in the starting lineup. But significantly, the supporters were buoyed by a return to that press that has last seen since Jesse Marsch was in charge. But that was the first 45 minutes. In the second half, things turned for the better and then, shockingly, worse for the home side that evening. Midfielder Caden Clark, who scored the opening goal, spoke about the match as a whole: I’ve kept that in the back of my mind, actually, not scoring at home. I really wanted to do that in front of the supporters, and it was great to do that in front of the few that were here tonight who brought the noise. When I scored that [goal] the place was shaking, and you feed off of that and gai...

Editorial: New York Red Bulls are Fun to Watch

photo by Matt Kremkau by Daniel Feuerstein The New York Red Bulls 2024 season starts off and running. In their first three matches, they have looked different from their last five to six seasons of doom and despair when trying to attack or have a lapse in judgment on the defensive end. The two big editions for the club are undoubtedly the imports from Sweden in Centerback Noah Elle & attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg. Two players who are a part of the Swedish National Team have started off well in Major League Soccer. We all knew what we were getting right away from Forsberg. A high-energy creative and attacking midfielder who was already bought in from day one, when Director of Sport Jochen Schneider went to Leipzig and brought him over. He was already committed to making the trip to the United States to play his brand of soccer, and so far he hasn't disappointed. Even though he has come close three times off of free kicks, hitting the crossbar twice and being saved by the ke...

Red Bull News Network

Search This Blog