Marco Rose had the right instinct. His new €22 million signing had barely taken to the field when Antonio Nusa scored to make it 3-1 and secure the 4-1 win in the DFB Cup at Rot-Weiss Essen. "That makes me happy. I hope that gives him a boost," said the Leipzig coach about the young Norwegian, who had only been with the team for three days and got his first minutes of action at Essen's Hafenstrasse.
"We know about his qualities, but he still needs to improve physically," said Rose. "But he's only 19 years old. We have to give him a bit more time," said the coach.
The young Norwegian has also made a good impression on the team. "We were all delighted for him. He really stepped on the gas in training. The fact that he scored is great for his confidence," said national team player David Raum, who was back in the starting eleven after the European Championships. "I wished him that goal," said the left-back. Nusa now has to fill a huge gap left by Dani Olmo, who has moved to FC Barcelona. "But we're not putting any pressure on him," said Raum.
Rose brings in 16-year-old
Coach Rose was satisfied overall with the performance of his team, in which several players are still behind in training. Five professionals were also missing. This meant that Viggo Gebel, a 16-year-old youngster from the club's own academy, made his competitive debut in the final minutes.
Despite going behind early through Ramien Safi (2nd minute), the Bundesliga runners-up from the previous season quickly equalized in front of 17.000 spectators, the Bundesliga runners-up quickly equalized through Benjamin Sesko (12th) and finally won the game against the third division side with further goals from Loïs Openda (40th) and Xavi Simons (88th).
"It was a difficult game," said Rose. "But we stayed calm and level-headed. After the break, we hardly conceded anything, but also left a lot to chance," said the coach. Only RWE goalkeeper Jakob Golz prevented a higher victory for Leipzig with a number of saves. RB will certainly have to improve before the Bundesliga opener against VfL Bochum next Saturday. "We feel ready, we have big goals. But then we also have to play better soccer," said Rose.
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