"Live up to our role week after week"

Interim head coach Maximilian Ritscher had demanded “the highest possible professionalism” ahead of the away match in Innsbruck, despite the team having already secured first place in the qualification group. His players delivered: the seventh consecutive league win in the top division equals the club’s all-time record, previously achieved in 2019, 2018, 1985, and 1961. A win next Saturday against Hartberg could see the team set a new club record. “We’re having a great time together and want to live up to our role as favorites week after week,” emphasized Robert Zulj.

The victory at the Tivoli (match report) was preceded by a hard-fought battle, as the opponents posed several challenges for the Black and Whites, especially in the first half. “WSG mirrored our setup, and we struggled to find solutions, particularly to get in behind their last line,” analyzed Ritscher, who—together with his coaching staff—apparently drew the right conclusions during the halftime break. “It wasn’t even loud. We just made a few adjustments, especially focusing on playing more directly behind their defensive line.”

The changes paid off within moments, when Marco Sulzner—who delivered a strong performance in an unfamiliar central role in the completely reshaped back three—set up Maximilian Entrup’s opener for 1-0. “I’m always happy when I get my chance. I think I made good use of it, and it’s even better that we came away with the win,” said youngster Sulzner after his second start for the senior team.

The renewed lead came from a familiar partnership: just like in the autumn matches against Hartberg and Sturm, Hrvoje Smolčić found the net following a corner from Robert Zulj. Christoph Lang also got on the scoresheet again, just as he had in the reverse fixture against Tirol. “It feels great to score right after coming on,” beamed the attacking player after notching his third goal of the season. There was double reason to celebrate for Florian Flecker as well: the match in Tirol marked his 100th Bundesliga appearance (including the European play-offs) for LASK.

With the 3-1 win, the Linz side emerged victorious in all four meetings with WSG this season. Additionally, their xG (expected goals) figures in those matches were significantly above their season average of 1.53 xG per game: 2.41 and 2.83 in the regular season, followed by 2.04 and now 2.39 in the qualification group. The same trend continued under interim coach Ritscher, whose three games in charge have seen an average xG of 2.53. The goal is to maintain this level of performance in Saturday’s upcoming match against Hartberg.

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