Source: REUTERS/David W Cerny
[Saba Sports News] This summer, Pep Lijnders left Liverpool to become the head coach of Red Bull Salzburg. However, Salzburg suffered consecutive defeats of 0-3 and 0-4 against Sparta Prague and Brest in the Champions League, raising questions about Lijnders’s player selections. According to Austrian media reports, Lijnders’s starting choices have left some players confused. After the 0-4 defeat to Brest, Salzburg player Amar Dedic stated: “I won’t say what the reason is right now, but there is definitely a reason.” Reports indicate that in the match against Sparta Prague, two summer signings who had not played before—Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark—suddenly entered the starting lineup; while part of this was due to team injuries, neither had shown any performance worthy of starting on a sporting level. Austrian media essentially suggest that Salzburg players are unhappy with Lindez’s preference for Liverpool players; Clark transferred from Liverpool while Bajčetić was also loaned from Liverpool, and Salzburg players believe the coach favors them because he previously worked with them.