Fresh off the back of their Europa League defeat to Spurs, LASK hosted St Polten, who both started Matchday 5 on 7 points. Despite having similar starts to the season, the game itself was far from even. LASK controlled the game from start to finish and took the lead in the 33rd minute before romping home 4-0 winners.
Both sides fielded a 3-4-3 and matched up largely man for man throughout. A key battle was down the flanks, with the Wing Backs and Wingers. LASK certainly had the better of these wide areas, with certain combinations standing out, particularly that of Andres Andrade (LWB) and Johannes Eggestein (LW) who formed an attacking threat throughout the game. Both players feature in my report below.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Andres Andrade
Player profile:
- Nationality: Panamanian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 16/10/1998
- Current club: LASK Linz
- Career: Juniors OO, San Francisco, LASK Linz
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Andrade played the game at Left Wing-Back in the 3-4-3 formation adopted by LASK. Andrade is predominantly a Left Back and has also played Centre Back for LASKs second side Juniors OO. He is 6’2 and has a very strong physique. As you can imagine with this physique Andrade was a strong, powerful runner down the wing, providing the width for LASK in the offensive phase, looking to overlap and get past Johannes Eggestein down the left. Andrade made 5 dribbles in the game and successful with 4 of them.
Andrade made 7 crosses in the game after getting down to the by-line, he had mixed success with these with 4 out of 7 reaching his target, a few of his misdirected crosses actually went straight out of play, highlighting his inconsistency with this part of his game against St Polten.
A strong feature of his display was his ability to win the ball back, he made 9 interceptions in the game and a lot of these were attributed to his physicality and tenacity to duel with opponents and meant that he completely dominated his match up with the opposition Right Wing-Back. Andrade also won 6 out of 7 defensive duels, showcasing his defensive talents from his previous experience playing further back. Andrade impressed in 1v1 situations both in the defensive phase and the attacking phase.
Andrade is very left footed, this combined with his positioning meant that he had limited passing options when receiving the ball on the touchline. He adopted an open stance but with his reluctance to use his right foot he often found himself passing backwards. When he tried to go forward his options were limited because of this and he only made 36 of his 52 passes.
Andrade’s overall performance impressed me, largely with his physical prowess and desire to burst forward in attack, combined with his obvious defensive capability. Although there were some technical flaws with his delivery and his passing. I’d be interested to see him continue playing as a Wing Back if LASK do opt for the 3-4-3 formation more often this season but he certainly looked like a mainstay in the team based on this performance, be it as a Wing-Back or in a more defensive role.
Rating – B1
Johannes Eggestein
Player profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 08/05/1998
- Current club: LASK Linz, on loan from Werder Bremen
- Career: Werder Bremen, LASK Linz (L)
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Eggestein played as the Left Forward for LASK. With Andrade taking up the wide areas, this allowed Eggestein to drift inwards and get involved with play, supporting the striker Marko Raguz. On occasions Eggestein linked up well with both Andrade and Raguz, this included lay offs from Raguz that got Eggestein in behind and running at the St Polten back 3, particularly the right sided Centre Back who he got in a 1v1 on multiple occasions. With Andrade he often engaged in one touch interlink, working their way down the left side.
A strong feature of the Werder Bremen loanee’s performance was his ability on the ball, he carried the ball forward well and looked very neat and tidy in doing so. He displayed a turn of pace when breaking forward and certainly looked like the main creative threat going forward for LASK and possessed quality that shone above some of his teammates. Eggestein completed 5 out of his 6 dribbles and had 8 touches of the ball in the penalty area, highlighting his attacking threat. This attacking threat led to an xG figure of 0.86 but Eggestein never really looked that threatening in front of goal. 3 out of 5 chances were on target, but they were tame efforts and straight at the keeper. He did however register an assist for the second goal, getting to the by-line and clipping a ball in for LASK’s second goal.
Another impressive aspect of his game was his tenacity and hassling, he pressed high up the pitch and this resulted in 5 interceptions. Along with Andrade they really dominated down the left hand side of the pitch. Eggestein definitely possesses a quality that could see him play at a higher level, unsurprising from somebody who has played 55 times for Werder Bremen. It will be interesting to see how this season unfolds for him, a strong domestic and Europa League campaign could gain some form and momentum for Eggestein at an important moment in his career.
Rating – A2
Marko Raguz
Player profile:
- Nationality: Austrian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 10/06/1998
- Current club: LASK Linz
- Career: LASK Linz
- Position: Striker
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Raguz played for just under an hour and it was a mixed performance. He didn’t star in the game but did show glimpses of his quality. The area that impressed was his link up when dropping short to get on the ball, his one and two touch play to lay the ball off to the midfield or flick it across to Eggestein in particular was very good.
The real disappointment was that despite his 6’1 and physical frame, he completed only 4 of his 24 duels and didn’t challenge aerially at all. The ball just didn’t stick when LASK tried to find him higher up the pitch.
Another disappointment in his display was the fact he only had 3 touches in the box and never really posed a serious threat to goal. So, all in all it was unsurprising to see him taken off just before the hour mark. There were signs of a player there, so it may have just been an off day for him and will be interesting to see more of him this season.
Rating – C