After the next disappointment, Marco Rose noted a fact that is not entirely unimportant for his future. "We have 21 points and are in second place. You can't complain about that for now," said the RB Leipzig coach after the 0-0 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Thanks to their position in the Bundesliga, Rose's job is not up for debate for the time being, even after their third winless game and a performance that was only good enough in the second half.
"We are confident in our squad and our coaching team, but of course we also have to deliver," said sporting director Marcel Schäfer on the Sport1 program "Doppelpass". "We haven't had a good week, we have high ambitions. We will address things." The manner in which they played was not what they wanted to bring to the pitch.
But there was plenty to complain about from the point of view of Oliver Mintzlaff and his management team. Four defeats from four games in the Champions League, a poor attacking display with three clean sheets in the Bundesliga and currently acute problems with creating chances. Against Gladbach, they had one and a half opportunities with good intentions, but Christoph Baumgartner failed to take advantage of each of them.
No one goes home happy
You sometimes get the impression that Leipzig are experiencing more than just a results crisis. The team has lost its ease, automatisms are rarely recognizable. The professionals are fighting against the crisis, which sometimes leads to a distorted perception of reality in the search for positive things. Yussuf Poulsen thought the first half against Gladbach was balanced. From RB's point of view, the scoring ratio alone was 3:11.
Kevin Kampl saw the situation much more clearly. "It's not like everyone here is going home happy and saying, wow, we've got a point. Not at all after the two defeats before," said the veteran. At least they have stopped their losing streak for now and played to nil. In the Bundesliga, "we're right there". However, league leaders Bayern Munich have now opened up a five-point gap.
Energy as the new benchmark
The international break should now help in the search for lightness. "It's good for us now," said Kampl. You can get away for a bit, take a breather and then want to attack again. The hope is that the playing style of the weeks and months before the Dortmund defeat will return in time.
The first small step was the second half against Gladbach. Rose played up the intensity of Leipzig's play, spoke of a "new benchmark" and that the team "behaved very strongly and played freely". However, it is also true that high energy is the basic prerequisite for RB soccer. If that is not the case, they will leave the pitch as deserved losers, as they did in Dortmund and Glasgow.
Injured players return
The injury situation also gives hope. Castello Lukeba and Lutsharel Geertruida will be back after the international break. Xaver Schlager is about to return to team training after tearing his cruciate ligament. David Raum - currently sidelined by a syndesmosis tear - should return at the beginning of December. Then they would only have to replace playmaker Xavi Simons, who will not be fit to play again until January.
Rose's main task, however, will be to get the team playing emotional soccer again. In terms of results, but also the style of play itself. The latter will probably be the trickiest task, as regular training is almost unthinkable due to the match schedule. Rose revealed that he has not yet been able to hold a session on offensive switching or pressing during the season. With these key elements of RB's game, that is quite unfortunate.
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