On Wednesday evening, footballer Xavi Simons licked blood: his own. Whether an injury that the 20-year-old RB Leipzig striker suffered shortly after the start of the second half. After a rough collision with an opponent, his lip was bleeding. He was seen running around the square with a bulky gauze bandage in his mouth until it was soaked with blood. And yet it was permissible to claim that the wound did not harm him or his team RB Leipzig. On the contrary.
Simons scored one of the greatest goals of the Champions League season so far against Red Star Belgrade, channeling an expected and necessary victory for his employers RB Leipzig. With the 3:1 (1:0) the Saxons came a lot closer to the round of 16 of the premier class. After three matchdays, Leipzig is in second place in the table – three points behind Manchester City, but five points ahead of Red Star and Young Boys Bern.
When the game was over, it was learned that Simons’ wound required basic outpatient care with a few stitches. That perhaps explained why it was not Simons, but German left-back David Raum who was named Man of the Match by officials. Not that Raum’s choice was entirely absurd; After the first Champions League goal of his career (13th) – after a brilliant pass from Xavi Simons – he also earned good marks and praise from his superior Marco Rose. But Simons was in his own category that evening. His goal in the 59th minute gave an anchor to a game that had lost its calm after a good initial phase for Leipzig. Because the Belgrade team had a few very good, individual artists on the pitch like director Mirko Ivanic, who can use inspiration to heave a game out of the prefabricated tracks.
The feared Red Star fans behaved comparatively well: they only fought among themselves
Xavi Simons’ goal came after a move from the left that was initiated by space, but only gained a deeper meaning through Simons. The Dutchman shot inside and then from 25 meters; The ball turned into the corner with a precise spin to make it 2-0. Belgrade’s goalkeeper Omri Glazer flew after it nicely, but with no chance. What followed was almost amusing, because there were quite a few Leipzig players who wanted to do the same as Simons and also tried balls cut from the second row, for example: Kevin Kampl (62nd) or Loïs Openda (64th). It would be some time before Leipzig’s third goal came, Dani Olmo, a late substitute, scored with a shot (84′) after Christoph Baumgartner had headed the ball onto the crossbar from a crowd. Baumgartner could have pleaded on his own behalf, but in the end he too ended up with Xavi and spoke about him in remarkable tones.
“I knew that he was a great kicker, but I didn’t know that he was such an unpleasant opponent,” said the Austrian international. Raum made a similar statement: Simons was “not above sprinting backwards,” said the left-back. Such attitudes are not always inherent in players with the talent of Xavi Simons. Those in charge at Paris Saint-Germain are likely to take note of this with increasing interest, as well as his ability to succeed on the biggest possible stage of club football, the Champions League.
Because Simons is still part of the PSG workforce, he is only employed as a temporary worker in Leipzig until the end of the season. The only hope they have in Leipzig is that Simons decides to stay in Saxony for interpersonal reasons and to ensure playing time. “First of all, we enjoy that he’s here. We don’t worry about anything else,” said Rouven Schröder when asked whether he was feeling anticipatory nostalgia. “Anyone who sees Xavi knows that he feels right at home here.”
He already has his sights firmly set on the tasks ahead. On Saturday, 1. FC Cologne will be visiting Leipzig (6.30 p.m., live ticker SZ.de), and in just under two weeks they should secure their place in the round of 16 in the Champions League. Then Leipzig has to compete in Belgrade, in the legendary one Marakana, which coach Rose is looking forward to and so is the team. He expects a magnificent and fiery atmosphere there, “we got a little foretaste today,” he explained, looking at the vocal fans of Red Star.
The Serbian fans behaved comparatively well compared to previous foreign missions – at least according to a preliminary assessment by the local police. They were even friendly enough to only fight among themselves (i.e. the Belgrade officials, not the Saxon officials). The people of Belgrade lit a few flares in the stands. But compared to the rocket that Xavi ignited after almost an hour, they only looked like sparklers.