The man of the match in Munich was Dani Olmo with the first hat-trick of his career and, above all, his second goal stood out with its technical brilliance. "It was an incredible night from us as a team, we ran a lot, made lots of right decisions," said the matchwinner after the successful opening game. "We wanted this trophy. There's no better way to start the season than with a win in Munich – and that's just the beginning." That sounds like a declaration of intent from the Spain international..
RB CEO Max Eberl was convinced after the impressive performance: "A win like that can and should give us lots of confidence." That is particularly so as RB Leipzig could not be sure how the newly formed team would work as a unit after so many personnel changes in the squad again. Eberl revealed it was rather like flying blind ahead of the first competitive match of the season. Now everything is much clearer. After last season's third place finish and Pokal win, with the first round tie away to SV Wehen Wiesbaden postponed to 27 September because of the Supercup final, Leipzig appear to be right on track despite the departure of several key players and lots of new signings.
Leipzig had to let go of four ace cards in the summer. Josko Gvardiol, one of the best Bundesliga central defenders, moved to the Premier League to join treble winners Manchester City. And Dominik Szoboszlai, one of the best providers in the league, and striker Christopher Nkunku, who was equal top scorer last term with Werder Bremen's Niclas Füllkrug, moved to England. Szoboszlai signed for Liverpool and Nkunku is now earning his money at Chelsea. Midfield enforcer Konrad Laimer was in the opposing line-up in Munich. Departures that hurt.
However, the club from Saxony appear to found excellent replacements on the transfer market. Lois Openda, the most expensive purchase in the club's history, is to fill the gap left by a Nkunku. The fast, 23-year-old Belgian scored 21 goals in France last season that played a big part in RC Lens finishing second behind Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Eberl described Openda as "the player we absolutely wanted up front." And the Slovenian Benjamin Sesko, who came from RB Salzburg, could also put pressure on Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen. Fabio Carvalho, on loan from Liverpool, will probably have to wait his turn.
There have also been several interesting new signings in midfield. Nicolas Seiwald could be an adequate replacement for Laimer with the Leipziger Volkszeitung describing him as a "ball winner of the first order." Like Sesko, Seiwald came from RB Salzburg where the 22-year-old developed into an Austria international and was voted player of the year back in his home country in the 2022/23 season. Seiwald replaced Kevin Kampl in the 3-0 win in Munich. Leipzig also brought in the highly promising attacking midfielder Xavi Simons on loan from PSG. The Dutchman was in the starting line-up in the Supercup final and he provided a lot of creative moments for the Red Balls. Christoph Baumgartner, a new signing from TSG Hoffenheim, missed part of the preseason due to a thigh problem.
RB recently signed the Frenchman Castello Lukeba from Lyon as the ninth new signing and successor to Josko Gvardiol. Max Eberl said of the U21 international that he is very advanced in his development despite only being 20: "He’s amongst the top defensive talents in Europe." Another newcomer to defence, the 18-year-old central defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu, will not be available in the coming months due to a torn ligament suffered in training. The most important man in the Leipzig defence remains Willi Orban who goes into his ninth season with RB as the new captain. Goalkeeper Peter Gulasci, his predecessor, is now the vice-captain. The 33-year-old only returned to full training this week after a long spell out injured with a torn cruciate. And Benjamin Henrichs, who progressed through all the youth teams at Bayer 04, is now a key player for Leipzig.
Pressing and transition play were again outstanding in the 3-0 win in Munich. Nevertheless, head coach Marco Rose wanted to dampen down expectations. "This match gives us confidence but we can do certain things better in the future." The basis for the first trophy is seen as disciplined defending. They cannot allow that to go missing in the Bundesliga opener in Leverkusen. Last season, the team that finished third with 41 goals conceded were the strongest side in defence behind Bayern and Union Berlin. In terms of the attack: Only the record champions and Borussia Dortmund scored more goals than RB Leipzig. The balance was right – that appears to be working again this season despite all the changes.
It remains to be seen if the many very young new signings – Christoph Baumgartner is the oldest of them at the age of 24 – quickly adapt to the Leipzig system of play in the Bundesliga. When RB Leipzig underwent a similar rebuild two years ago after the departures of Marcel Sabitzer, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté, and had to cope with Julian Nagelsmann moving on, they were only eleventh after 14 games. Marco Rose now has the task of quickly shaping the newly formed squad into a unit.
"It will be an exciting season," said stalwart Willi Orban. A lot of quality has to be added and a good result achieved from the start if possible. The group showed the level of their potential in Munich. RB Leipzig will again be playing for a Champions League finish in this Bundesliga campaign. Perhaps also for the league title.
Bayer 04 are away to Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 5 of the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off on Thursday 26 November at 18:45 CET at the Maksimir Stadium. All the information on ticket sales.
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It wasn’t just on the pitch that there was cause for celebration around the Werkself’s 2–1 home win against SC Freiburg. Plenty of happy faces could be seen near the dugouts at half-time too. Once again, CEO Fernando Carro, alongside former striker and club ambassador Stefan Kießling, paid tribute to eight supporters’ clubs celebrating up to their 30th anniversary on behalf of Bayer 04.
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He’s done it: Patrik Schick also found the back of the net in Bayer 04’s 2–1 win over SC Freiburg on Matchday six of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season – a club record! In what was a high-quality match from the word go, the Werkself were briefly rattled by the visitors’ opener from Derry Scherhant in the 14th minute but fought back with an equaliser from Ibrahim Maza just six minutes later. In the second half, the Black and Reds took control on their home turf and secured a well-earned win through record-holder Schick. In doing do, the Werkself inflicted the first defeat of the season on the club from the Black Forest.
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It was a match that will live long in the memory of everyone involved: The Bayer 04 U19s celebrated their seventh win in seven matches in the DFB Youth League preliminary round – and yet it was a very special victory indeed: in the 4–3 (1–1) win at VfL Bochum 1848, no fewer than five goals came in the final quarter of an hour. As the 90th minute approached, coach Patrick Greveraars’s side found themselves behind, but then fought back in true ‘Laterkusen’ style.
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Under Carles Martínez, the Werkself have so far proved unbeatable at the BayArena. The Spaniard has led his team to victory in all three of their most recent home matches – and, it's worth noting, without conceding a single goal. On Sunday, 18 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST / live on DAZN and Werkself Radio), current league leaders SC Freiburg will make the trip to Leverkusen, but will be without their top scorer. What's more, the Werkself have won all three of their previous home matches against the Black Forest club. With a goal, Patrik Schick could not only secure a fourth consecutive victory but also set a memorable record. Meanwhile, on what will be the ‘Health Day' at the BayArena, much of the focus will be on physical wellbeing. Today's matchday news.
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