Adeyemi scored twice from eleven meters. / Picture: APA / KRUGFOTO
Football champions Salzburg celebrated a success with a historical note on Wednesday evening. In the 2-1 win over OSC Lille in Wals-Siezenheim, a club from the top 5 leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France) was defeated for the first time in the Champions League. The prestige win feeds the hopes for promotion to the round of 16 – this would also be a first.
A look at the betting odds before kick-off showed the level of standing Salzburg has now achieved in Europe with its appearances on the international stage. All the bookmakers favored the domestic top in the duel with the French, while the guests have a much more valuable squad (market value comparison: 152.40 million euros to 272 million euros). But: The Lille this autumn is no longer the Lille from spring, which sensationally won Ligue 1 against Paris SG. The departures of midfielder Soumaré, goalkeeper Maignan and right winger Araújo cost a lot of quality, but still flushed 44 million into the club's coffers. The coach and sports director are also no longer the same, curiously, Salzburg of all people can have a say and empathize with such personal changes and upheavals.
Curiosity: two games, five penalties
The story of the first half of this game is easy to tell. After the match splashed on for half an hour without any major highlights, it was once again a penalty for Salzburg that heated up the spirits. As a reminder: At the Champions League opener, the 1-1 draw in Seville, Matthias Jaissle's team was awarded three penalties and missed two of them (Adeyemi, Sučić).
As in Spain, the fast Adeyemi took the penalty after great preparatory work by Aaronson – and converted it after minutes of VAR debate with a bit of luck after goalkeeper Grbić had touched the ball but was unable to distract it decisively (35th). With the leadership in the back gave way
Reluctance and slight uncertainty in the game of Salzburg, who had two good opportunities before the break by Kristensen (header to the pole / 41st) and Adeyemi (45th + 2).
It seems very strange that the second Salzburg goal came from a penalty (after handball), it was ultimately the fifth for Salzburg in the current competition – this time Adeyemi converted confidently (53rd). But because goalkeeper Köhn made a serious mistake in Yilmaz's free kick to 1: 2 (62nd), the game became explosive again.
Lille tried to equalize, Salzburg tried their luck on the counterattack, but no goal was scored. Thanks to the victory, Salzburg are at the top of Group G after two match days. Next opponents will be at home on October 20th in Wolfsburg. The Germans parted from Sevilla 1: 1.
