Erling Haaland contributed five goals to the biggest defeat in the club's history, and now the Norwegian wonder striker is set to serve as a role model for RB Leipzig as they seek revenge. "He has a brutal greed to force the goal in every situation. We have to get it into our heads to create something from the little situations too. We have the heart and the passion to do that," said attacking player Christoph Baumgartner. If Leipzig win at Manchester City this Tuesday (21:00/DAZN), they could even win Group G in the Champions League.
About eight and a half months have passed since Leipzig went down 7-0 in the round of 16 second leg. Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan added further goals to Haaland's five-goal haul. However, this did not result in any trauma. "We went on to win the cup and qualify for the Champions League. So it didn't destroy us," said coach Marco Rose. He has had worse nights than after that game.
However, the expectation for the third game at the Etihad Stadium is clear. "We will have to suffer," said Rose. Which means above all: run. Because the defending champions' opponents don't usually get long periods of possession, regardless of their own class. "I think even Liverpool only had the ball about 40 percent of the time," explained Rose. The 47-year-old emphasized that his team is self-confident and wants to prove itself.
Although both teams are already in the round of 16 and group victory is only theoretically possible if Leipzig win, Rose does not want to rotate in goal. "We've talked about doing it," said the coach, referring to the long-injured Peter Gulacsi. However, the Hungarian international goalkeeper was set back by a toe injury and missed several sessions.
But Rose, who will rely on Janis Blaswich in goal for City, held out the prospect of a guaranteed start in the final group game: "The desire is there to have him play from the start against Bern. Because he is important." It could be Gulacsi's last appearance for Leipzig. Although a transfer in the winter is not an issue for the 32-year-old at the moment, he also wants to play the European Championships with Hungary. Without match practice, that could be difficult.
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