Red Bull Salzburg are on the verge of sealing a place in the last 32 of the Europa League after making it 12 points out of 12 in Group G with a 1-0 win at 10-man PFC Levski Sofia.
Franz Schiemer settled the game at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, heading home a cross from the left from Christian Schwegler three minutes into stoppage time.
But with Spanish outfit Villarreal beating Lazio 4-1 at El Madrigal to go level on six points with the Italians, Huub Stevens’s Bulls still need a maximum of one more point to be sure of their place in the knockout stages of the competition
After seeing his Austrian champions extend their 100 per cent record, Stevens said: “That was a match I really wanted to win. I have always said that it is ideal to score in the last few seconds. Then your opponents have no chance to react.
“We went into the match very strongly and should have been 2-0 up after 15 minutes. Congratulations are due to the team as they had the willpower to still win the match from there.”
'It was not easy to play against such a tough and determined side' - Dietmar Beiersdorfer
Salzburg had looked the more likely side with Marc Janko and Somen Tchoyi each troubling Levski goalkeeper Georgi Petkov early on.
Dušan Švento, the hero a fortnight ago, also forced Petkov into action but it seemed that there would be no way through for the visitors.
Levski went on the offensive after being reduced to 10 men when Georgi Sarmov was sent off for hauling down Švento on 62 minutes.
But the Bulls snatched victory right at the death, with Schiemer beating Petkov with 15 seconds left on the clock.
Salzburg sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer said: “I am of course really happy about the win. I have to congratulate the team.
“It was not easy to play against such a tough and determined side, but they showed a great will to win after the sending off.”
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