Loan spells do not always prove fruitful for Liverpool, but Vitezslav Jaros continues to get the most out of his temporary moves after adding another trophy to his collection this week.
Jaros joined Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga in January and has since made 18 appearances having quickly earned the title of their first-choice goalkeeper.
The 22-year-old’s year to date has been non-stop, with a club debut, an international call-up, a title race and now a trophy to celebrate – and there’s potential for more success too.
The trophy in question was lifted on Wednesday evening after Sturm Graz secured a 2-1 win over Rapid Wien in the Austrian Cup final, with two second-half goals completing the comeback for Jaros’ side.
The Liverpool loanee conceded the first goal of the game after Matthias Seidl reacted first to Jaros’ save, which was parried to the edge of the six-yard box and left him with little chance to recover.
Titelverteidiger! ? #sturmgraz pic.twitter.com/OGfK5TSWXJ
— SK Sturm Graz (@SKSturm) May 1, 2024
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Sturm Graz were soon back in it after halftime, though, with an own goal in the 50th minute levelling the scores before Tomi Horvat led Jaros and Co. to victory with a reactive finish in the 81st minute.
It is the second piece of silverware on loan for Jaros after he lifted the FAI Cup in Ireland with St Patrick’s Athletic in 2021, following heroics in the penalty shootout.
This trophy was not won in as dramatic fashion, but it will be just as memorable for the 22-year-old, who recently spoke to This Is Anfield about his loan spell in a “really good league.”
And that makes it all the more impressive that he could soon be a league winner as Sturm Graz are three games away from lifting the Austrian Bundesliga title, they sit three points clear of Salzburg with three games to go.
Jaros has featured 11 times in the league since his January move, keeping four clean sheets and conceding only eight goals in that time – resulting in just one league defeat.
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