Rose is ruthless: at the moment we simply can't take any more

The analysis after the sixth defeat in the sixth match in the Champions League was unsparing and honest. "An unbelievable amount" was missing, said RB Leipzig managing director Marcel Schäfer: "The competition has been very disappointing for us in every respect so far." Advancing this season is out of the question, even two wins in the remaining games were no longer enough.

It was quiet in the dressing room, reported attacker Christoph Baumgartner after the 3-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa on Tuesday evening. When the players went to bed, Leipzig were 34th out of 36 in the new league phase of the European Champions League. The clubs from Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys Bern, who are still behind the Saxon Bundesliga club, can still move past them this Wednesday if they score against Atlético Madrid and VfB Stuttgart.

"A cucumber goal" makes the difference

"That's how it works in sport sometimes," said coach Marco Rose. It was not an undeserved defeat. "Nevertheless, the lads put up a fight, but at the moment we simply can't do any more," emphasized the 48-year-old in view of the high number of personnel absentees and the continuous use of the still fit professionals in three competitions.

The fact that Amadou Haidara also had to leave the field at the break due to muscular problems and the decisive goal was deflected in the 85th minute was in keeping with the season's performance in the Champions League. Or as Schäfer put it: "A cucumber goal." The remaining games in January at the Red Bull Arena against Sporting Lisbon and then at Sturm Graz will now be nothing more than a motivational exercise with no lasting value in the Champions League.