RB Leipzig sent out a clear message on Tuesday night with the 3-2 win against titleholders Real Madrid in the Champions League ensuring third place in Group F and a place in Europe after the winter break. The Red Bulls ended an impressive run for Real who suffered their first defeat in match number 17 of the season. "It was a great night for Leipzig," said RB coach Marco Rose. "We played really well with an outstanding first 25 minutes and a 2-0 lead." Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku scored the opening goals for the initially dominant hosts. And as Real, who had to play without a number of key performers, grew stronger, RB worked hard in defence with a lot of good challenges said Rose in praising the performance of his team. Substitute Timo Werner, with excellent work from Mohamed Simakan, sealed the victory.
It was the third win in succession for the Leipzig team in the Champions league and they now need one point away to Shakhtar Donetsk (in Warsaw) to progress to the Round of 16. David Raum, signed from TSG Hoffenheim in the summer, highlighted after the win against the league leaders in La Liga: "We are a team with lots of individual quality but we can also fight." Leipzig showed their resilience three days earlier in the Bundesliga. After going 3-0 down at FC Augsburg, they fought back in a frenetic end to the game with an extra man – Augsburg's Iago was sent off for a second bookable offence – to earn a point. The last two goals in the 3-3 draw were scored by Nkunku and Hugo Novoa on 89 and 90 minutes.
RB have now gone eight games without defeat (six wins, two draws) and, after a poor start to the season, have also made up ground in the league. Under Marco Rose, who succeeded DominikTedesco as head coach at the beginning of September, the team from Saxony have moved up to eighth place and are now only four points behind fourth spot. The holders of the DFB Cup are through to the Round of 16 after an impressive 4-0 win against Hamburg SV.
In addition to goalkeeper and captain Peter Gulacsi, who suffered a torn cruciate at the start of October in the 3-1 win against Celtic and has since been replaced by Janis Blaswich, Leipzig will also have to manage without Konrad Laimer against Bayer 04. The Austria international suffered an ankle injury in Marco Rose's first game in charge against Borussia Dortmund (3-0) and he will probably not play again this year. The defenders Lukas Klostermann (in rehab training) and Marcel Halstenberg (flu) are also sidelined.
Nevertheless, RBL have a very strong defence. There have been impressive performance in central defence from stalwart and vice-captain Willi Orban plus Josko Gvardiol and Abdou Diablo, on loan from Paris St Germain. Gvardiol has made the most number of challenges for the Saxony team. Mohamed Simakan started as a central defender but now mostly plays on the right side of defence under Rose. David Raum and former Leverkusen player Benjamin Henrichs also play on the flanks. Rose is spoilt for choice in defence. Willi Orban is always on the side, "because he's a really important factor for us as a leader," said Rose.
Offensive all-rounder Dani Olmo made two brief appearances against Augsburg and Real Madrid after returning from a six-week break due to a knee injury. The 24-year-old could be an option for the starting eleven against the Werkself. Rose has the Austrian Xaver Schlager, Amadou Haidara and Kevin Kampl available in central midfield. The Solingen-born former Werkself player is now one of the most experienced members of the Leipzig team.
The best provider for the Red Bulls is the Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai with ten assists to date. The 22-year-old has set up four goals in the league. Timo Werner could well be in the starting line-up on Saturday after recovering from an infection.
RB Leipzig have been well known for their strength in counter-attacks for years. They are fast and attacking in transition like almost no other club in the league. RB have the second highest passing rate in Germany's top flight after Bayern. They also have created the second most number of clear-cut chances after the record champions with their flowing football. The Rose team have gained speed and penetration up front with the return of Germany striker Timo Werner from Chelsea. The 26-year-old has already scored eight goals (plus four assists) across all competitions. His teammate Christopher Nkunku has carried on where he left off last season when he scored 20 goals in the league and provided 15 assists. The Frenchman, the target of many top European clubs in the summer, is top scorer in the Bundesliga with eight goals alongside Werder Bremen's Niklas Füllkrug and Borussia Mönchengladbach's Marcus Thuram. And Emil Forsberg, André Silva, Yussuf Poulsen and the 19-year-old Spaniard Hugo Novoa are always capable of scoring. Leipzig are particularly strong at home having won four of their last five matches at their own ground (one draw).
Augsburg played a particularly high line in the 3-3 draw with the Red Bulls – and that caused them problems particularly in the first hour. Leipzig are susceptible from set pieces: RB have already conceded nine goals from set plays – the third highest number in the league. And the counter-attacking Saxons have also already conceded three goals on the break putting them 17th in this ranking. The Red Bulls have proved particularly ineffective away from home with no wins on the road up to now.
"Of course, we want to get back into the Champions League and it would be the sixth time in seven years," said Oliver Mintzlaff, the chairman of the board, and setting out targets ahead of the season. After the mixed start to the campaign, Leipzig got back on course for a European spot from the start of October. The strong squad, not only retained with a few exceptions but also further strengthened with the new signings David Raum, Xaver Schlager and Timo Werner, definitely has the quality to finish in the top four. The contract extension with Christopher Nkunku to 2026 gives a lot of RB fans high hopes for another successful season. The club will also soon see strengthening in the management structure: Max Eberl comes in as the new sporting managing director at RB Leipzig on 15 December. If the Saxons get over their away weakness in the remaining games before the World Cup break then they should be back in the top third of the table.
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