LASK’s chances of promotion to the Europa League have continued to decline. The Linzers were 1-0 up until the 84th minute in Anderlecht at Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday evening, but suffered a bitter 2-1 defeat in the end. This means that head coach Thomas Sageder’s team is still pointless in Group E, and the Belgian league leaders have caught up with second-placed Toulouse, who also have four points.
Liverpool (9) confirmed their standing as clear group leaders with their third win, a 5-1 win against Toulouse. The Linzers, on the other hand, were again unable to take anything worthwhile despite an early goal from Moses Usor (24th), his first of the current competitive season. The finish was extremely bitter. First, Cameron Puertas converted a penalty that Felix Luckeneder unnecessarily took (84th). In the last action of the game, Christian Burgess scored with a header from close range after a Puertas free-kick cross (94th). “We have to take advantage of the opportunities at the front,” Sageder had demanded in advance. This was almost the case in the 13th minute when Kevin Mac Allister was just able to clear a shot from Robert Zulj on the line for his defeated goalkeeper Anthony Moris. The first well-executed top chance led to immediate success. After an exemplary Stojkovic cross, the unchallenged Usor took the ball directly at the five-pointer with his left and didn’t give Moris a chance. The equalizer almost happened shortly later after a counterattack, but the goal was not recognized after VAR intervention. Tobias Lawal had a quiet first half, only having to intervene when Loic Lapoussin finished (40′). The Linzers didn’t allow much, but only became really dangerous for the second time. Marin Ljubicic should have made it 2-0 after a remarkable start from the strong George Bello, but failed because of Moris, who reacted brilliantly with his foot (45th + 3). After the restart, the guests limited themselves primarily to managing the result, Moris still had to save one time from a Horvath free kick (53′). In general, the Belgians clearly set the tone, and things repeatedly got dicey in the Linz penalty area. But top opportunities remained in short supply, a Machida header was easy prey for Lawal (66th). But two inattentions robbed Linz of the fruits of their defensive work. Luckeneder slipped unnecessarily into Lapoussin in the penalty area and Puertas didn’t miss the chance from the spot. Lawal guessed the corner but couldn’t save it. Burgess’s header brought an even worse blow. Late penaltyThe Linzers were punished for a significant drop in performance after the break; after two wins in the league, including most recently against Salzburg, there was another defeat. At European level it was the third after the 1:3 against Liverpool and the 0:1 against Toulouse. As a result, only a win in the home game against the Belgians on November 9th counts in order to realistically stay in the race for a ticket to the knockout phase. Thomas Sageder after the game: “An extremely bitter defeat, the disappointment is of course huge. It was a tough fight against a strong opponent, the team gave everything until the end. We definitely would have deserved a point.”Union Saint-Gilloise – LASK 2:1 (0:1)Brussels, Anderlecht StadiumSR Atilla Karaoglan/TUR.Goals:0:1 (24th) Usor 1:1 (84th). .) Puertas (penalty) 2:1 (94th) BurgessSaint-Gilloise: Moris – Mac Allister, Burgess, Machida – Castro-Montes (64th Terho), Amani (75th Sadiki), Vanhoutte, Lapoussin – Amoura, Rodriguez ( 64. Eckert), PuertasLASK: Lawal – Talowjerow, Ziereis, Luckeneder – Stojkovic (72. Flecker), Horvath, Ljubic, Bello (46. Goiginger) – Ljubicic (67. Mustapha), Zulj, Usor (76. Andrade) Yellow cards : Vanhoutte, Burgess and Bello, Zulj, Horvath, Talowjerow
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