Leipzig present a tough Champions League proposition to Guardiola | Sport

The last time RB Leipzig visited Manchester City they attacked with enthusiasm. They were bold and bold. Christopher Nkunku scored a hat trick. One repetition this week would not be enough. City returned fire with interest and scored six points.

That was in September 2021 under Jesse Marsch as the team struggled for identity and control, although the club looked to continuity when appointed from the Red Bull stable. When the teams met again in December for the second leg in Saxony, Marsch had shown the door the door and the club were on the verge of appointing Domenico Tedesco – whose last game as Schalke coach was at the Etihad in March 2019, a 7-0 chastisement Defeat as we attempt to complete the City Connection circuit.

Now the connections are no longer important, even if Leipzig return on Tuesday with largely the same line-up. Of the eleven who were simultaneously chased and chased in Manchester that night, only Nordi Mukiele and Angeliño are no longer with the club. For what it’s worth, the former scored an own goal that night while the latter was sent off amid hearty applause from his former club’s fans.

Born in his current working town, Marco Rose was also considered a safe couple as he coached Red Bull Salzburg to back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles in 2018 and 2019 so was familiar with the system. But the contrast to Marsch’s reign could not be greater. Since Rose took office in September, three days before his 46th birthday, no team in the Bundesliga has picked up as many points as Leipzig, a position held until Saturday’s 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Her recklessness really caught Rose’s attention. They defend efficiently – a step forward for the coach whose defense has often been disastrous at Borussia Dortmund, scoring 52 goals in 34 games last season – and need little encouragement in the last third. Their offensive versatility is really something special. Nkunku is clearly the star. Review footage of that loss at City 18 months ago and you’d be amazed at how long people denied he was created as a centre-forward. However, since the team will have to do without him again for the foreseeable future due to injury, there are countless possibilities.

It’s really a glimpse of the future with Nkunku leaving the club in the summer, but Timo Werner’s explosive opener to Gladbach’s eventual breakthrough was a reminder that having him as a point of reference might not be such a bad thing for the side. Emil Forsberg scored the second from the penalty spot while Josko Gvardiol hit the third with that thigh against a despondent Gladbach who had nine defenders to cover four home attackers. Those numbers are obviously irrelevant if none of those defenders are actually moving. It was Gladbach’s momentary listlessness in a nutshell.

There are still a few things Rose needs to consider. Like many teams that favor counterattacks, they still don’t feel comfortable getting the ball and being forced to play. In the first half, Gladbach had less possession and more chances, with which Marcus Thuram should have taken the lead. Daniel Farke’s side had another chance to take the lead in the second half when a bursting Jonas Hofmann was swept aside by David Raum before Alessane Pléa fired a weak penalty into the arms of Gladbach youngster Janis Blaswich. Of course, managing excess ball possession is not a problem that Leipzig has to reckon with at City.

There are issues that need to be addressed as the first part of the season has conditioned what came next. The lack of pace as well as results earlier in the season under Tedesco made Leipzig part with him in early autumn and they have been catching up since. This season, said sports director Max Eberl in a one-two on Sport 1 on Sunday, it’s about “entry into the Champions League”, after this false start nothing can be taken for granted. As for the current title contenders, “If they slip, we want to be there.”

Eberl, who received the expected flak from his former club’s away fans, a banner with an Oscar implying he had faked the illness that forced him to leave Mönchengladbach last year after two decades at the club, conceded being a regular Finding your reliable niche is the most important thing when nurturing a model that says to young talent: “If you come to Leipzig, you can always play in the Champions League.”

But there is another level. Werner’s signing recognizes that it also takes experienced quality to grow rather than just being a top-flight talent factory and there’s even a trophy to defend, with the DfB-Pokal and a quarter-finals won under Tedesco last May with Dortmund next month. Punking City, after the 2020 Champions League semifinals seemed like too much, would definitely speak for growth rather than growth potential.

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Bundesliga results

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Cologne 0-2 Bochum, Bayern Munich 5-3 Augsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin 1-1 Mainz, RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke 2-2 Borussia Dortmund, Freiburg – Hoffenheim 2-1, Werder Bremen Bayer Leverkusen 2-3, Wolfsburg Union Berlin 1-1

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• Bayern are two points clear at the top of the table after Saturday’s entertaining 5-3 win over Augsburg, and Dortmund lost the lead twice to Schalke in the Revierderby and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Defenders led the league leaders’ attack (though not always in defence), with João Cancelo scoring his first goal for the club and a brace from Benjamin Pavard overcoming Mërgim Berisha’s early opener for the visitors. Sadio Mané started for the first time in four months and put on two. “It’s not easy to find your rhythm,” he emphasized. The two BVB goals by Nico Schlotterbeck and Raphaël Guerreiro were works of art, but “we lacked the clarity and concentration,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

• Freiburg are back in the Champions League mix, with Ritsu Doan’s clever late finish beating the struggling Hoffenheim and putting them level on points with Union, who conceded a late equalizer against Patrick Wimmer in Wolfsburg. Both have big duels in the Europa League against Juventus and Union Saint-Gilloise this week.

• Bochum ended a run of four straight defeats with a surprise 2-0 win in Cologne, catapulting them from the last three to 14th – there are still just three points between the last five – and iconic goalkeeper Manuel Riemann returned after that back to its best form last week’s derby nightmare against Schalke (the Royal Blues are bottom of the table, incidentally, despite the aforementioned thrilling derby draw and a seven-game unbeaten run). Stuttgart and Hertha picked up valuable points, with the former owing a point at Eintracht Frankfurt to Silas’ good strike, while Ludovic Ajorque’s cracker in Berlin allowed Mainz to take a point away from Hertha.

• Meanwhile, Hertha can breathe a sigh of relief after 777 Partners’ investment was finally confirmed. However, a report in Monday’s Kicker hinted that the Miami-based private equity firm may have had some influence over the club’s decisions, including the sacking of sporting director Fredi Bobic.