A wild European Cup evening in Cyprus: after a see-saw battle, our Red Bulls drew 3-3 with Pafos, securing their place in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. We've summarised four key points from the match.
1. Cypriot home fortress conqueredIt was every bit as tough as predicted. Pafos had already demonstrated their formidable home strength against Hajduk Split, overturning the first-leg result. Against us, the Cypriots, spurred on by a boisterous crowd in the sweltering heat, were poised to put on a spectacular performance. The fact that the port city team is a force to be reckoned with in front of their own fans was already evident last season: in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League group stage, they earned seven of their nine points at home. It's all the more impressive, then, that our lads managed to defy this cauldron of noise after falling 0-2 down.
2. Tabakovic shows his nose for goalsHaris Tabakovic is doing exactly what he was signed to do. While his build-up play isn't always glamorous, the striker knows precisely where the opponent's goal is. In only his fourth game for Red Bull, he scored his first hat-trick for us – and a perfect one at that! Such accuracy cannot be taken for granted, even for an experienced goalscorer: for the 32-year-old, it was the seventh time in his professional career that he had scored three or more goals in a single match
3. The quiet engine: Redzic key to the comebackAlthough he didn't appear on the scoresheet, Damir Redzic played a crucial role in our comeback in the second half. The Hungarian initiated our first and third goals with strong dribbling, delivering the ball dangerously into the box. While he wasn't credited with an assist, his contributions to the team were in no way less valuable.
4. Collective resilience by the bucketloadLate winners in the first leg and in the home league opener against TSV Hartberg – and now another strong comeback after falling behind. Our team is already demonstrating remarkable resilience at this early stage of the season.
Danny Röhl was understandably proud of the team's attitude, saying:
Constantly dealing with adversity in the early stages of the season is a great quality to have. Deciding games late, turning them around, is a real strength alongside all our tactical developments. It certainly wasn't our best game, but a very emotional one that we won with great mental fortitude!Our lads don't have much time for a breather. After our ADMIRAL Bundesliga match on Sunday against WSG Tirol, it's straight on to more European action. The play-off against Swedish club Mjällby will decide who qualifies for the UEFA Europa League group stage. We'll play the first leg away this coming Thursday, before the decisive second leg at our Red Bull Arena on August 27th
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