THE LASK Linz produced, this Wednesday, what was one of the most unexpected results of the entire third round of the Champions League league stage, by getting the better of Sporting, at the José Alvalade Stadium, by 2-3, in a match that featured a controversial performance by Nicholas Walsh.
In such a way that, after the final whistle, in the quick interview area of the Austrian television station Canal+, Sasa Kalajdzic, the scorer of the goal that came back against the Lions, did not shy away from pointing the finger at him, even though, initially, he had chosen to take a more diplomatic stance.
“The referee wasn’t really in shape, but we don’t have to blame him. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good either. However, we had a good performance”, said the 29-year-old player, then going on the ‘attack’, with at least one specific move that, in his opinion, should have been judged differently.
“I don’t think he (Luis Suárez) did anything intentionally, but it was against our goalkeeper, who then had to be replaced, and there was no card. That’s crazy”, he pointed out, referring to the move that occurred at the start of the second half, which forced Lukas Jungwirth to leave and give way to Tobias Schutzenauer.
“Any little thing was whistled against us, but nothing was whistled in our favor,” he added. The visiting team’s coach, Dietmar Kuhbauer, also took the opportunity to comment on the 35-year-old judge, in this case, regarding the penalty scored by Luis Suárez, who opened the scoring in the fifth minute.
“There had already been, before, a foul on Sali (Sasa Kalajdzic), which should have been signaled. The penalty was very harsh, in my opinion, but, after a 2-3 victory, it went by the wayside”, he said, about the play in which Nestory Irankunda went to the pitch, in a shared ball with Robert Ljubicic, in the opponent’s penalty area.
“When you concede a penalty in the opening minutes and you know that Sporting hadn’t lost a game (in the Champions League)… I have to give a big compliment to my team, who just kept going”, he concluded. Sasa Kalajdzic was also “very proud” of the way LASK Linz knew how to react to adversity.
Sporting’s accounts in the Champions League
All things considered, after this ‘slip-up’, Sporting ended the round with the same six points with which it began, a record that earned it 12th place in the league phase of the Champions League, equal with Barcelona, Como, Manchester City, Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund.
Now, in the million-dollar competition, Rui Borges’ men will face Shakhtar Donetsk (on November 3, at Stamford Bridge), Manchester United (on November 25, at the José Alvalade Stadium), AS Roma (on December 8, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome), Barcelona (on January 20, at the José Alvalade Stadium) and Manchester City (on January 27, at the Etihad Stadium).
