The 41-year-old Dutchman backed his team after the match: “We can’t expect all these guys, who are playing for the first time, to play the best game of their lives.” He defended his line-up: “There’s always a first time.” He took responsibility, but in the end it was too much of a risk. Shaky at the back, mistakes in the build-up play, too indecisive in the tackles and shockingly lacking in ideas and danger up front.
The game
Sparta Prague had waited 19 years to return to the Champions League. The Czechs started off hungry. They laid the foundation for their well-deserved victory with a lightning goal in the second minute. The beginning of the end for Salzburg. “An unnecessary goal,” said Lijnders angrily. The goal played right into the Prague team’s hands, and they were then able to play from a solid defensive block. Salzburg had to make the game, but didn’t manage to do so. “We simply didn’t have the means or the weapons to make a difference,” admitted the coach.
The defense
What many feared was confirmed in the first game: Salzburg’s Defense is not (yet) ready for Europe. “It didn’t go as we had imagined. We had a lot of coordination errors,” explained Blank. Together with center-back colleague Kamil Piatkowksi The German showed little confidence in the center of defense.
“This is a difficult moment, not just for me, but for the whole team,” said Piatkowski. The captain and goalkeeper were also very angry Janis Blaswich. “It is extremely bitter what we put on the pitch. We had hoped for more. It hurts a lot. We simply didn’t achieve enough.”
The inexperience
The Average age the Salzburger was 22 years – and that’s only because the 33-year-old keeper Blaswich pushed the average up. Salzburg proved a year ago that youth doesn’t necessarily have to be bad when they started their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win at Benfica Lisbon. With an average age of 21.5 years. But a lot has changed since then. It’s not just the coach who is new – apart from Dedic and Gloukh, no player from Prague was in the starting eleven in Lisbon.
The lessons
Coach Lijnders can only pick his players up again: “That was only the first game, we are here to learn.” And: “You can learn the most from games like this. We know exactly where we need to improve.” The fact that in the next game at home against Brest (October 1st) is just as clear as the fact that you almost have to score points. Because the opponents are not getting any easier. After Dinamo Zagreb and Feyenoord it is still against Leverkusen, PSG, Real and Atletico Madrid.