Zambian duo Patson Daka and Enoch Mwepu played the full match in Red Bull Salzburg’s 2-0 home defeat to Spanish side Villareal in the first leg of the Europa League last 16.
The Austrian side went into tie bubbling with confidence and looking to transfer their domestic form to Europe.
Red Bull Salzburg survived a scare in the 27th minute after goalkeeper Cican Stankovic saved a Paco Alcacer penalty.
In the 39th minute, Mwepu almost scored for Jesse Marsch’s side but saw his elegant chip narrowly
Two minutes later, Alcacer saw his header beat Stankovic from close range to put Villarreal 1 nil up.
After the break, Salzburg pegged Unai Emery’s men back as the searched for an equalizer to no avail.
Fer Nino made it 2 nil for Villarreal against the run of play.
Zambian international Patson Daka saw his shot hit the post in stoppage time.
The two sides face off next week in the second leg.
Elsewhere there were wins of Manchester United and Tottenham Spurs while Arsenal and Leceister City were held.
Match reactions
Jesse Marsch:
We played against opponents who were very clever and made few mistakes. On the other hand, we made a few of the kind of mistakes that young teams tend to make. We have to fly to Spain now and perform better if we can.Unai Emery:
I am very satisfied. We didn’t have much luck in our recent matches, and we got that back today. Salzburg competed well, even if we had the better end. We know that it isn’t over yet.
Tough game for Salzburg. The lost their key men Patson’s strike partner Sekou Koita and M.Camara who normally start for them in midfield along side Mwepu. A few hours before the game UEFA said the players were suspended for testing positive for taking prohibited substances when on National duty with the Malian team last year. They were given a prohibited remedy for altitude sickness by National medical staff during an AFCON Qualifying game.
Two hours before the game!! It was a huge setback.
But Patson needs to stand up and show he has what it takes to play at a high level. The return game is an opportunity.
It was indeed a good game and experience for Salzburg,just unfortunate part is that they had missed some key players like Camara and Koita who help with Daka and Mwepu…but all is not lost until the next game at Villarreal home…. otherwise it was good play Salzburg..
I remember that game, it was good