Faith and honesty: what Rose learned from Klopp

His future boss Jürgen Klopp has already left his mark on RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose as a player. "We had situations in Mainz where we felt hopeless. Kloppo came in the next day and gave us the feeling that we wanted to play the next game straight away," said Rose. "Believing in yourself, never giving up, those were important attributes I learned from Kloppo - alongside good defending."

Rose did not offer any tips for Leipzig's match against Klopp's former club Liverpool FC in the Champions League. He also sees parallels to Klopp under new coach Arne Slot. "The nature of the game has hardly changed," said the 48-year-old. "It's very intense, they're strong against the ball. That has always characterized Liverpool."

Klopp as mastermind

Rose has also copied something from coach Klopp. "His leadership, his openness, his honesty. In terms of content, it was above all the topic of defending that I took with me," reported the coach.

Klopp will start as global head of soccer at Red Bull after his time out on January 1 and will therefore also be responsible for Leipzig. Under the cult coach, RB soccer is to become the brand it once was under Ralf Rangnick.

Reckoning for the knockout phase

In the new Champions League format, both Leipzig and Salzburg are still without a point after two games. "Losing is never good. We could have earned a point or two," said Rose. RB lost at Atlético Madrid and in overtime against Juventus Turin. "Liverpool are a completely different caliber."

But nobody is panicking even if they lose again. "You need eight to ten points to finish in the top 24," said Rose. Leipzig still have five games left in the 36-team league after the Liverpool clash. "We've built up a bit of pressure with our start. But Liverpool is anything but a deciding game."