Red Bull Salzburg opened their seventh round of the Austrian Bundesliga with a clean sheet and three points against Sturm Graz at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday afternoon. The hosts took the match to their visitors from the first whistle and never let it slip, finishing 3-0 up with goals in the second half. To be fair, the result reflected a straightforward day at the office for the Red Bulls, who sat third in the table with 14 points after six matches.
The opening half belonged to Salzburg, who pressed high and forced Sturm into a defensive posture. The visitors managed 70 attacks compared to 54, but most came from wide areas and didn't trouble the goalkeeper. By then, the visitors had already seen their chances reduced, though the score remained level and the game looked as if it could go either way.
The turning point came at the hour mark when Salzburg brought on several fresh legs. Nikolas Veratschnig found space in the box at 71 minutes to open the scoring, and the momentum shifted decisively. A minute later, Sturm's Jurgen Heil collected a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving his side with ten men. And here's the thing — once Heil left the pitch, Salzburg knew exactly what to do.
Kevin Boma doubled the lead immediately after the dismissal, capitalising on the numerical advantage. Sturm tried to respond with crosses and long balls, but their goalkeeper had to make four saves to keep the margin manageable. At 83 minutes, Aboubacar Sidiki Camara added a third to seal the result, and the visitors' hopes were over.
The statistics tell the same story. Salzburg held 55 per cent possession and created two big chances, converting one of them. Sturm managed only two shots on target from seven attempts, with an accuracy rate of 14 per cent. The visitors had more corners and crosses but couldn't find the final pass. Salzburg's shots accuracy of 47 per cent showed they made their chances count.
The win extended Salzburg's unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions, including victories over Red Star Belgrade and Rapid Vienna in previous rounds. Sturm's loss dropped them further behind the leaders, with three wins and two draws now sitting at 11 points. We had backed the home side before kickoff with 42 per cent confidence — the prediction came true, and the margin was as expected.
