In the league, Leipzig coach Rose silenced his critics with two wins. But the opponents were Heidenheim and Mainz. Now Liverpool is in the Champions League – RB has no points there.
Marco Rose decided not to call Jürgen Klopp. “He is in Mallorca and looks after his wife and his dog. He needs some peace and quiet,” said the RB Leipzig coach. Whether a conversation with Klopp before the groundbreaking game in the Champions League on Wednesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) against his former club Liverpool FC would have been helpful remains to be seen anyway. But the name of the cult trainer now hovers like a shadow over Leipzig.
Rose is under pressure anyway. In the premier class there are zero points in the right column of the table after two of eight games. The unnecessary defeat against Juventus Turin was particularly difficult to digest. And Klopp has been omnipresent since his appointment as global head of football for the Red Bull clubs – starting January 1st.
First criticism, then Klopp
At least in the chronological order, what has been happening in the Leipzig cosmos since the end of September is sometimes worth noting. First, the still all-powerful ex-boss Oliver Mintzlaff noted quite emphatically in a Kicker interview that despite all the investment at RB, they should slowly get a lot closer to the championship. Leipzig had just achieved zero numbers against Union Berlin and FC St. Pauli.
And less than two weeks later, Klopp is presented as the new mastermind of RB football. It is intended to turn Ralf Rangnick’s legacy, which was somewhat off course, into a distinctive brand again. An obligation that naturally raises the corporate players to a massively higher level. But also an obligation that brings with it the automatism that the name Klopp is likely to be brought into play every time things don’t go well in Leipzig.
Pointless in the Champions League
In the Bundesliga, Rose has recently evaded the critics with three wins. Leipzig is second and has only conceded two goals in seven games. League leaders Bayern can be overtaken on their own. All good then. However, the most recent opponents were Augsburg, Heidenheim and Mainz. Liverpool FC is a significantly different caliber – and Leipzig has to slowly climb up the table in the Champions League.
“We know that we don’t have any points yet. We have self-confidence, we will push again, we will try again,” emphasized Rose and was already preparing for the eventuality of a third defeat: “We still have a lot of games after that where we can steer it our way.”
Control instead of power
The Reds are doing great even without Klopp. His successor Arne Slot started his term in office with nine wins in ten competitive games. No coach at the famous Anfield Road has ever achieved this. In addition, the Dutchman, who was brought in from Feyenoord Rotterdam, managed to impart his style to the team within a short time. There is little that reminds us of the wild Klopp times; in Liverpool, control rather than power is the order of the day. That’s enough to lead the Premier League table at the moment.
The new LFC style should suit Leipzig. The team has its problems with a high proportion of ball possession, counterattacks via the fast strikers Loïs Openda and Benjamin Sesko are more of a recipe for success. The demands are now so high – starting with the management floor – that a home win against Liverpool is definitely expected. After all, they have already defeated Real Madrid in their own stadium. Or as Mintzlaff put it: “Just taking part in the competition, this phase is now behind RB Leipzig.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
