A double strike in the first quarter of an hour was enough for champions Sturm Graz to secure a largely unchallenged victory against LASK on the first matchday of the new season.
Sturm Graz got off to a dream start in the Bundesliga. Coach Jürgen Säumel’s team played like champions for long stretches of their opening match of the first round at LASK on Friday, winning 2-0 (2-0). Grgic (9th minute) and Kiteishvili (12th minute, penalty) set the tone early on in front of 12,670 spectators at the Raiffeisen Arena. The Graz team thus laid the foundation for their third league title in a row.
The Linz team slept through the start of coach Joao Sacramento’s league debut, and the Graz team took advantage of the open spaces. After a cross from Böving, Kiteishvili first headed the ball onto the crossbar before Grgic finished off the rebound from close range with little effort. Things got even worse for the hosts shortly afterwards. Andrade was late in a challenge with Kiteishvili in the penalty area, and referee Harald Lechner had no choice but to award a penalty. The fouled player confidently slotted the ball into the corner, with LASK goalkeeper Jungwirth diving the wrong way.
A triple strike was in the air, but the LASK goalkeeper prevented it in a duel with Grgic (13′). With the lead in the bag, the defending champions were therefore primarily concerned with managing the result. The defense was compact and had the Linz players, especially striker Adeniran, under control. The few shots that did get through were too inaccurate. At the other end, Johnston failed to beat Jungwirth (34′). It was a bitter blow for the Styrians that new center back Oermann had to go off injured at half-time.
LASK’s comeback goes unrewarded
Perhaps that was why the Linz team became at least a little more dangerous in the second half. Lang was unlucky with a shot that hit the crossbar (58′), and his supposed equalizer shortly afterwards was ruled out for offside by Cisse, who had provided the pass (63′). Sacramento tried to inject some impetus with numerous substitutions. A combination between two substitutes almost resulted in a goal when Flecker headed just wide from a Danek cross (77).
21-year-old Bignetti, who replaced the injured Khudyakov, did not have much to do on his league debut in goal. How long he will remain the number one remains to be seen. Sports director Michael Parensen announced in a Sky interview on Saturday the signing of Oliver Christensen, the 26-year-old Dane who is Fiorentina’s substitute goalkeeper.
Bignetti’s counterpart was called into action again, reacting well to a Beganovic shot (87′). Sturm thus continued where they left off in 2024/25, when the Graz team won both season matches against LASK. However, they lost the opening game last season 0-1 to Rapid. For Linz, it was their first defeat in the first round after six unbeaten starts in a row with five wins.