Round 15 Admira Mödling 1-2 Austria Wien Wolfsberger AC 2-2 Mattersburg Hartberg 0-4 Salzburg St. Pölten 2-0 Wacker Innsbruck Altach 0-2 Sturm Graz Rapid Wien 0-1 LASK Salzburg remains undefeated and maintains a 12-point lead over LASK breaking Hartberg's 3 game winning streak. At the other end, Admira has continues to struggle. Only 2 points in the last 7 rounds leaves them two points adrift. St. Poltien moved ahead of WAC into 4th. Sturm Graz moved ahead of Rapid into 7th ! Now Last Die Tabelle Sp G U V D Pt 1 1 FC Red Bull Salzburg 15 13 2 0 25 41 2 2 LASK Linz 15 8 5 2 12 29 3 4 SKN St. Pölten 15 7 5 3 8 26 4 3 Wolfsburger AC 15 7 4 4 7 25 5 6 FK Austria Wien 15 6 3 6 -2 21 6 5 TSV Hartberg 15 7 0 8 -3 21 7 8 Sturm Graz 15 4 7 4 -1 19 8 7 SK Rapid Wien 15 4 4 7 -4 16 9 9 Wacker Innsbruck 15 4 3 8 -8 15 10 10 SV Mattersburg 15 4 3 8 -11 15 11 11 Cashpoint SCR Altach 15 2 5 8 -5 11 12 12 Admira Mödling 15 2 3 10 -18 9
Round 16 Some return to normalcy as Salzburg, Austria, Rapid and Sturm win. Salzburg increases its lead to 14 points. Sturm moved ahead of Hartberg into 6th. Mattersburg moved past Innsbruck into 9th. At the other end, Admira has continued to struggle, but picked up a point on Altach. Mattersburg 2-2 Admira Mödling 1-2 Austria Wien 2-0 St. Pölten LASK 3-3 Hartberg Salzburg 1-0 Altach Wacker Innsbruck 0-1 Rapid Wien Sturm Graz 3-0 Wolfsberger AC Now Last Die Tabelle Sp G U V D Pt 1 1 FC Red Bull Salzburg 16 14 2 0 26 44 2 2 LASK Linz 16 8 6 2 12 30 3 3 SKN St. Pölten 16 7 5 4 6 26 4 4 Wolfsburger AC 16 7 4 5 4 25 5 5 FK Austria Wien 16 7 3 6 0 24 6 7 Sturm Graz 16 5 7 4 2 22 7 6 TSV Hartberg 16 7 1 8 -3 22 8 8 SK Rapid Wien 16 5 4 7 -3 19 9 10 SV Mattersburg 16 4 4 8 -11 16 10 9 Wacker Innsbruck 16 4 3 9 -9 15 11 11 Cashpoint SCR Altach 16 2 5 9 -6 11 12 12 Admira Mödling 16 2 4 10 -18 10
Round 17 Four draws and home wins for St. Pölten and Mattersburg. No change in the rankings. St. Pölten 2-1 Altach Admira Mödling 2-2 Salzburg Wolfsberger AC 1-1 LASK Mattersburg 2-1 Austria Wien Hartberg 2-2 Wacker Innsbruck Rapid Wien 0-0 Sturm Graz Now Last Die Tabelle Sp G U V D Pt 1 1 FC Red Bull Salzburg 17 14 3 0 26 45 2 2 LASK Linz 17 8 7 2 12 31 3 3 SKN St. Pölten 17 8 5 4 7 29 4 4 Wolfsburger AC 17 7 5 5 4 26 5 5 FK Austria Wien 17 7 3 7 -1 24 6 6 Sturm Graz 17 5 8 4 2 23 7 7 TSV Hartberg 17 7 2 8 -3 23 8 8 SK Rapid Wien 17 5 5 7 -3 20 9 9 SV Mattersburg 17 5 4 8 -10 19 10 10 Wacker Innsbruck 17 4 4 9 -9 16 11 11 Cashpoint SCR Altach 17 2 5 10 -7 11 12 12 Admira Mödling 17 2 5 10 -18 11
Round 18 A rough day for the visitors today! Saturday wasn't much better! LASK 2-1 Mattersburg Sturm Graz 3-0 Admira Mödling Wacker Innsbruck 0-0 Wolfsberger AC Altach 6-1 Hartberg Salzburg 5-1 St. Pölten Austria Wien 6-1 Rapid Wien Now Last Die Tabelle Sp G U V D Pt 1 1 FC Red Bull Salzburg 18 15 3 0 30 48 2 2 LASK Linz 18 9 7 2 13 34 3 3 SKN St. Pölten 18 8 5 5 3 29 4 4 Wolfsburger AC 18 7 6 5 4 27 5 5 FK Austria Wien 18 8 3 7 4 27 6 6 Sturm Graz 18 6 8 4 5 26 7 7 TSV Hartberg 18 7 2 9 -8 23 8 8 SK Rapid Wien 18 5 5 8 -8 20 9 9 SV Mattersburg 18 5 4 9 -11 19 10 10 Wacker Innsbruck 18 4 5 9 -9 17 11 11 Cashpoint SCR Altach 18 3 5 10 -2 14 12 12 Admira Mödling 18 2 5 11 -21 11
Salzburg remains undefeated and goes as “Herbstmeister” into the winter break. Four more rounds and then the table is split into two groups.
Round 19 LASK 2 - 0 Austria Wien Admira Mödling 3 - 0 Wacker Innsbruck Wolfsberger AC 0 - 0 Altach Mattersburg 1 - 1 Sturm Graz Hartberg 1 - 1 St. Pölten Rapid Wien 2 - 0 Salzburg Well, Salzburg isn't going to go undefeated in the league. But still an impressive 18-round run without a loss to start the season. Rapid helped their push for a finish in the top half of the table and thus inclusion in the Championship Group. Still four points out with three rounds to go. Admira Mödling earned a third win of the season to close the gap at the end of the table to one point behind Altach.
Round 20 Salzburg 3 - 0 Wolfsberger AC Altach 0 - 1 Admira Mödling St. Pölten 0 - 4 Rapid Wien Austria Wien 4 - 2 Hartberg Sturm Graz 0 - 3 LASK Wacker Innsbruck 0 - 1 Mattersburg Salzburg and LASK win big atop the table. After beating league leaders Salzburg last round, Rapid earns a huge 4-0 win at third-place St. Pölten. Rapid is now one point from the Championship Group with two rounds to go. At this rate, they'll make it. Admira Mödling earns a second straight win as well to equal the number of victories before the break. With the two results over their nearest competition, Admira moves off the bottom of the table.
Round 21 Admira Mödling 3 - 2 St. Pölten Salzburg 0 - 0 Sturm Graz Austria Wien 1 - 3 Altach LASK 2 - 0 Wacker Innsbruck Mattersburg 2 - 1 Rapid Wien Hartberg 1 - 1 Wolfsberger AC Only a point for Salzburg at home, and LASK closed the gap at the top to 9 points. Still a comfortable lead for Salzburg, but it was 14 points just three rounds ago. Admira Mödling won the Niederösterreich derby for their third straight victory. Innsbruck dropped below both Admira and Altach into last place. One more round until the first-ever table split in the Austrian Bundesliga...
In the last three weeks, the same 6 are in the top half. Austria Wien has slipped into 3rd. WAC and Graz have their fate in their hands. Rapid and Mattersburg could slip in if WAC and Graz falter. (Mattersburg needs a lot to happen to stay with the big guys!) Key games this weekend: Sturm Graz - Austria Wien Wolfsburger - Mödling Rapid - Hartberg St. Pölten - Mattersburg Now Last Die Tabelle Sp G U V D Pt 1 1 FC Red Bull Salzburg 21 16 4 1 31 52 2 2 LASK Linz 21 12 7 2 20 43 3 5 FK Austria Wien 21 9 3 9 2 30 4 3 SKN St. Pölten 21 8 6 7 -2 30 5 4 Wolfsburger AC 21 7 8 6 1 29 6 6 Sturm Graz 21 6 10 5 2 28 7 8 SK Rapid Wien 21 7 5 9 -3 26 8 9 SV Mattersburg 21 7 5 9 -9 26 9 7 TSV Hartberg 21 7 4 10 -10 25 10 12 Admira Mödling 21 5 5 11 -16 20 11 11 Cashpoint SCR Altach 21 4 6 11 -1 18 12 10 Wacker Innsbruck 21 4 5 12 -15 17
Round 22 Wacker Innsbruck 0 - 2 Salzburg Wolfsberger AC 2 - 2 Admira Mödling Altach 1 - 2 LASK Rapid Wien 2 - 2 Hartberg Sturm Graz 1 - 0 Austria Wien St. Pölten 0 - 1 Mattersburg The first phase of the season ended with a tight pack in the middle of the table. Sturm beat Austria to leap from 6th to 3rd. But the top 6 going into this round remained in the top half of the table and will now be placed in the Championship Group. The bottom half will compete in the Qualification Group. Points will be halved (rounded down), so here's the current standings: Championship Group Salzburg 27 LASK 23 Sturm Graz 15 Wolfsberger AC 15 Austria Wien 15 St. Pölten 15 Qualification Group Mattersburg 14 Rapid Wien 13 Hartberg 13 Admira Mödling 10 Altach 9 Wacker Innsbruck 8
Round 23 Wolfsberger AC 0 - 3 LASK Sturm Graz 0 - 1 St. Pölten Salzburg 5 - 1 Austria Wien Altach 2 - 1 Mattersburg Rapid Wien 3 - 0 Admira Mödling Hartberg 0 - 2 Wacker Innsbruck In the Championship Group, Munas Dabbur scored four to help Salzburg pull away from Austria in the second half. And St. Pölten vaulted from 6th to 3rd with a win in Graz. The bottom two teams in the Qualification Group won to leap over Admira, which is back a the end of the table. Rapid now leads that group.
Round 24 Austria Wien 0 - 1 Sturm Graz St. Pölten 1 - 3 Wolfsberger AC LASK 0 - 2 Salzburg Admira Mödling 1 - 1 Altach Wacker Innsbruck 0 - 2 Rapid Wien Mattersburg 3 - 0 Hartberg Big win by Salzburg at LASK to increase the lead to 7 points in the Championship Group. Behind those two, it's three teams tied 8 points behind LASK (Sturm Graz, Wolfsberger AC, St. Pölten). Austria is another 3 points back in last place. Rapid still leads the Qualification Group ahead of Mattersburg. Altach has been climbing steadily and is now third.
Round 25 LASK 0 - 0 St. Pölten Wolfsberger AC 1 - 1 Austria Wien Salzburg 3 - 1 Sturm Graz Wacker Innsbruck 1 - 3 Admira Mödling Rapid Wien 2 - 1 Mattersburg Hartberg 0 - 1 Altach Salzburg earned the only win in the Championship Group to extend their lead to 9 points over LASK. In the Qualification Group, Admira climbed off the bottom into 4th by beating Innsbruck. Rapid defeated nearest rivals Mattersburg to build a five-point lead in the lower group standings. Incidentally, with Marco Rose set to leave Red Bull Salzburg to take over as head coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach next season, Salzburg just announced that American Jesse Marsch will assume the coaching duties in the summer. Marsch is continuing the Red Bull circuit, having previously served as head coach of New York Red Bull and currently as assistant at RB Leipzig.
Round 26 Sturm Graz 1 - 2 Wolfsberger AC St. Pölten 1 - 1 Salzburg Austria Wien 2 - 2 LASK Admira Mödling 2 - 1 Hartberg Altach 2 - 2 Rapid Wien Mattersburg 3 - 1 Wacker Innsbruck Salzburg gave up points, but considering they played a man down for 87 minutes, earning an away draw is respectable. At any rate, LASK couldn't take advantage to narrow the gap. In the Qualification Group, Mattersburg closed the distance from Rapid to three points. Altach and Admira are another three points back.
Round 27 Salzburg 3 - 1 Wolfsberger AC Austria Wien 2 - 2 St. Pölten LASK 1 - 2 Sturm Graz Admira Mödling 0 - 2 Mattersburg Wacker Innsbruck 0 - 4 Altach Hartberg 2 - 4 Rapid Wien A midweek round saw Salzburg expand their lead by three points over LASK to an impressive 12 points in the Championship Group. Only four points separate the bottom four teams in that group. In the Qualification Group, the top three teams all earned away wins. Rapid continues to lead with Innsbruck in the relegation spot.
Round 28 Wolfsberger AC 2 - 1 Salzburg St. Pölten 1 - 2 Austria Wien Sturm Graz 2 - 3 LASK Altach 1 - 4 Wacker Innsbruck Rapid Wien 3 - 4 Hartberg Mattersburg 1 - 1 Admira Mödling Wolfsberger AC delivered only the second defeat all season for Salzburg. LASK made up three points on the leaders, but the gap is still 9 points atop the Championship Group. Last-place Innsbruck got a huge away win. Hartberg took down the Qualification Group leaders Rapid, so the bottom two remain separated by two points. Despite the loss, Rapid still leads the group.
Round 29 Austria Wien 1 - 2 Salzburg LASK 3 - 0 Wolfsberger AC St. Pölten 0 - 1 Sturm Graz Admira Mödling 3 - 4 Rapid Wien Wacker Innsbruck 1 - 0 Hartberg Mattersburg 0 - 0 Altach With three rounds to go, Salzburg is officially Bundesliga champion for the sixth straight year! Congrats to the Red Bulls for winning the double for the fifth time in six years. Truly the dominant club in Austrian soccer. Wins by both Salzburg and LASK meant the gap remained at nine points. But since Salzburg's point total was rounded down at the end of the first phase, unlike LASK's, they hold the tie-breaker and thus can't be overtaken. In the Qualification Group, Rapid's two nearest challengers tied, so with three points at Mödling, the lead was built to four points. Might be enough to win that group with three rounds to go. Hartberg is now in the relegation spot after losing to former last-placed Innsbruck.
Round 30 Wolfsberger AC 4 - 0 St. Pölten Sturm Graz 1 - 3 Austria Wien Salzburg 2 - 1 LASK Altach 2 - 2 Admira Mödling Rapid Wien 1 - 0 Wacker Innsbruck Hartberg 2 - 1 Mattersburg With the title race settled, Salzburg put the exclamation point on the season by beating LASK to extend the lead to 12 points. Austria Wien earned some much-needed points to separate from St. Pölten by three points for the playoff spot. Rapid has now secured the top spot in the Qualification Group with a seven-point lead over Mattersburg. Hartberg's win means Innsbruck has moved back into the relegation spot.
Round 31 Austria Wien 2 - 0 Wolfsberger AC Sturm Graz 1 - 2 Salzburg St. Pölten 0 - 1 LASK Admira Mödling 3 - 2 Wacker Innsbruck Altach 3 - 1 Hartberg Mattersburg 1 - 0 Rapid Wien No changes in position in the Championship Group, but Austria beat WAC to move within one point of third place. The final round match-ups favor WAC, so it'll be tough for Austria to overtake them. Wacker Innsbruck lost again. But so did Hartberg. So Innsbruck remains two points back but holds the tie-breaker since their point total was rounded down after the first part of the season. But either way, Innsbruck will need to win at home against Mattersburg to avoid relegation.
Round 32 Salzburg 7 - 0 St. Pölten LASK 5 - 2 Austria Wien Wolfsberger AC 2 - 1 Sturm Graz Wacker Innsbruck 4 - 0 Mattersburg Rapid Wien 1 - 2 Altach Hartberg 3 - 1 Admira Mödling Salzburg put the exclamation mark on this season with a resounding thumping of St. Pölten. LASK, Wolfsberger AC, and Austria Wien round out the top four and also earn spots in European competition next season. One final Europa League spot is still to be determined. Rapid Wien and Mattersburg, the top two Qualification Group finishers are in a playoff match today with the winner facing Championship Group fifth-place finisher Sturm Graz. Wacker Innsbruck did its part winning big against Mattersburg, but Hartberg also won to stay above the line. So Innsbruck has been relegated after just one season in the Bundesliga. Interestingly, neighboring Wattens is in the pole position to replace Innsbruck with two rounds remaining in the Erste Liga.
Rapid 2 - 0 Mattersburg Rapid prevails to earn the right to fight Sturm Graz for the final Europa League spot. It will be a two-leg series this Thursday and Sunday. The Erste Liga is down to the final round. Both Wattens and Ried won today, so Wattens still maintains a two-point lead but inferior goal-differential in the race for Bundesliga promotion. Incidentally, the two relegations from the Erste Liga have already been determined--and it's not the bottom-dwellers. Wiener Neustadt (currently 5th) was not granted a professional license for next season, and Wacker Innsbruck II (currently 7th) will be forced down because the Innsbruck first team will be relegated to the Erste Liga.
Rapid Wien 1 - 2 Sturm Graz Sturm Graz 0 - 1 Rapid Wien Sturm earned the final spot in Europe over Rapid on away goals. Also, Wattens won in the last Erste Liga round to keep the promotion spot atop the table. They will replace neighbors Innsbruck in the Bundesliga next season.