Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues
They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.
Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).
But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.
Andrei Ivan Honours
Club
Universitatea Craiova
- Liga II: 2013–14
Individual
- Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17
Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area
The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!
First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.
Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.
No riots, but problem on arrival
After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.
But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.
The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.
