Red Bull Salzburg to launch statement plan against Lewski Sofia

On Thursday at 18:45, Red Bull Salzburg start the group stage of the Europa League. In the away match, the Austrian side face the Bulgarian champions Lewski Sofia. Coach Danny Röhl wants to make a statement right away in the form of three points.

Lewski began the new season with eight consecutive wins and remained unbeaten until last weekend. Only then there was a 0-0 draw against Botew Wraza, which marked the first point drop. The form of the Bulgarian champions therefore remains impressive.

In Austria, Salzburg recorded four wins and two draws in the first six league rounds. After six wins in the league, the team had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the last league match against SV Ried. The efficiency in front of the opponent's goal is to be improved at the Vasili‑Lewski National Stadium.

Plan and Preparation

Röhl traveled to Bulgaria with the record of Lewski in mind. “We will prepare well for that because we want to score there,” said the German. The plan is easier to formulate than to implement, but it forms the core of the project.

Motivation and Competition

Centre‑back Kevin Boma emphasized that matches like this are the real reason for the work. “We want to play boldly, bring our tempo and right from the start show that we want to achieve something in this league phase,” he added. Röhl saw the Europa League as an excellent competition with great teams from across Europe.

According to Stefan Adelsberger, the Bulls collected only six points from eight games in the previous season and finished in 31st place. Last year Salzburg reached the semi‑final, a year later the round of 16. This year they aim for a clear performance increase compared with the previous season.

Lewski, coached by Julio Velazquez, relies on legionnaires from Brazil and Portugal. In the national Supercup the team lost 2-4 last Wednesday in the so‑called eternal derby against ZSKA Sofia. Röhl commented that everyone was eager to see where they stand at European level.

With the clear goal of making a statement right from the start, Salzburg looks optimistically towards Sofia. The team hopes to break the opponent's strong form and kick off their own season with a win.