Champions League
RB Leipzig relies on mentality in Madrid
Leipzig has to do without Konrad Laimer for the time being. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
In Real Madrid, RB Leipzig currently has the toughest opponent in the Champions League. RB needs something countable after the false start against Donetsk. But now a very important player is out.
The business trip to Madrid began with bad news for RB Leipzig. The DFB Cup winner will have to do without his Konrad Laimer pressing machine for a longer period of time.
An injury to the syndesmosis ligament in the left ankle not only prevents the Austrian national soccer player from playing in the Champions League game on Wednesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) at Real Madrid. The 25-year-old will miss the team of new coach Marco Rose for weeks. “He’s a key player. His range, his behavior when pressing, his aggressiveness – we have to deal with it differently, through clever group tactical behavior. Basically, it won’t change anything about the idea we have,” said Rose at the press conference in Madrid .
The people of Leipzig don’t have time to lament anyway. After the gala against Borussia Dortmund, the toughest of all conceivable tests is coming up for the defending champion of the European premier class. The appearance at Real will answer the question of whether the 3-0 win against the German runners-up is just a snapshot, a reaction to the change of coach or a sustainable return to the old RB mentality. “At the end of the day it’s a football game that we’re looking forward to. I don’t know why we should be afraid, it’s going to continue on Saturday, now there are six weeks in English,” said Rose, who then went on to ex- Club Gladbach meets.
Werner praises Rose
Domenico Tedesco’s successor had already announced after the perfect debut against his ex-club that “the second step is the more difficult one”. It remains to be seen whether the wondrous transformation will unleash further powers. The fast-paced offensive football under Rose is at least to Timo Werner’s taste.
“His style of play suits us very well,” said the international, who scored in April’s premier club quarter-finals in his old club’s 3-2 win in Madrid. In Spain’s capital there is also a reunion with his former Chelsea colleague Antonio Rüdiger. The defender recently scored his first goal in a Real jersey in the 4-1 win over Mallorca.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team got off to a perfect start to the season with five wins in their first five competitive games. Striker Vinicius Júnior in particular is in spectacular form: the Brazilian has scored in all five games. But Leipzig does not want to be deterred and relies on the spirit of the Dortmund game. “We’re doing exactly the same thing,” said attacker Dominik Szoboszlai. Xaver Schlager, who won the Champions League for junior teams with Salzburg in 2017 with Amadou Haidara and Coach Rose, emphasized: “We’re going there with a big smile.”
Forsberg as driver
Tactically, it could be a good fit that Madrid, with 2014 world champion Toni Kroos, relies on possession football. Werner and Christopher Nkunku should use passes from Emil Forsberg with their speed when they win the ball. He also wants to rely on “mentality and passion over 90 minutes” in Madrid. “We missed that last time, it wasn’t just down to the coach, it was down to us players too,” said the Swede in comparison to his performance under Tedesco.
Forsberg, under ex-coach Tedesco only the second choice behind the currently injured Dani Olmo, immediately took on the role of playmaker against Dortmund. Even Rose wasn’t surprised. “The guys have that in the tank,” he said.
With his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach, Rose lost 2-0 in Madrid in December 2020 to a header brace from Karim Benzema after a 2-2 draw at home. The French world champion was one of the guarantors for the next Champions League title last season and has already scored three times in the new league season. In the premier class, Real started a week ago with a confident 3-0 win at Celtic Glasgow.