The 344th big Vienna derby is over and the winner is Austria Vienna. The “violets” turn the game around thanks to two Fitz goals.
Austria beat Rapid 2-1 (1-1) in the big Vienna derby and thus drew level on points with league leaders Sturm Graz. The green-whites, who have been successful twice in the prestigious duel, took the lead on Sunday in Vienna-Favoriten with a dream goal from Sangaré (30th). Fitz equalized with a penalty (41st minute) before half-time and shortly after the break he scored the free kick (47th minute) to give Austria their eighth home win of the season.
After the 344th clash between the arch-rivals, coach Helm’s team, which is now unbeaten in twelve competitive matches (eleven wins), has a nine-point lead over Rapid. Four rounds remain before the points are shared. For Rapid coach Klauß, it was the first defeat in his third derby. After two rounds in the spring, the fourth-placed team from Hütteldorf are still waiting for their first point.
15,300 spectators turned out for the first derby in almost ten years without guest fans. The away sector was not deserted, as Austria had invited charitable organizations to visit. In any case, the fans’ tribune of the violets missed the rivalry in the stands and let it be known via a banner: “Today is not a real derby”.
Klauß relies on speed, Dragovic grits his teeth
Klauß relies on speed in attack and puts his captain on the bench for that. Captain Seidl, scorer of the winning goal in the 2-1 win at Hütteldorf in the fall, had to make way for Wurmbrand. Nenad Cvetkovic also returned to the starting lineup. Guenouche replaced the suspended Vinlöf for Austria. Sahin-Radlinger, who had recently been suffering from back problems, was fit. Dragovic tweaked his hip, but the defensive leader did not miss the derby.
Rapid were only able to get in front of Sahin-Radlinger for the first time after almost ten minutes when Wurmbrand shot, and three minutes later Beljo shot wide of the far post. Austria relied on Fitz to create chances, but they didn’t pose any danger. Hedl in the Rapid goal only had to intervene after a harmless shot for almost half an hour. Shortly afterwards, Rapid took the lead.
Sangarés Kunstschuss
Sangarés Treffer verdiente das Prädikat sehenswert. The Malian turned around after a blocked shot with his back to goal and completed a volley with his left foot. Rapid celebrated alone and had the upper hand. Sahin-Radlinger parried a Schaub shot, after the following corner kick Beljo could no longer avoid his teammate Jansson’s shot. The ball would have been a goal.
Austria did not manage a single dangerous shot on target in the entire first half, but managed to equalize. Auer made a technical mistake and ran into the path of Ranftl. Referee Weinberger awarded a penalty, and the VAR did not object. Fitz stepped up and scored confidently.
Austria efficient
The 25-year-old was not done in his 150th Bundesliga appearance. 80 seconds after the restart, Fitz took a free kick and curled the ball over Hedl into the far corner. Austria thus proved to be mercilessly efficient. Rapid had to react. Schaub headed wide and Klauss was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Plavotic.
Rapid’s coach brought on Kara for Wurmbrand after an hour, and with 15 minutes remaining, Schaub was replaced by Seidl. Austria secured the game with Potzmann for Barry. Rapid had more possession, but apart from a blocked Seidl shot (79th minute), there was no danger in Austria’s penalty area. Dragovic and Co. were again solid in defense. There was some turbulence deep into injury time. Although the ball went into the goal after a corner, the goal was disallowed due to an offside position.
