"Zero goal threat": Leipzig coach Rose settles accounts with players

RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose has clearly criticized his players after their embarrassing exit from the Champions League. "We completely lack the feeling for what it takes to win games," the 48-year-old said on DAZN after the 1-0 defeat at Sturm Graz. With just one win from eight games, Leipzig finished 32nd out of 36 teams.

The team in Klagenfurt had actually wanted to gain confidence for the Bundesliga, where they face Union Berlin on Saturday (18:30/Sky). But that failed completely. "If you develop zero goalscoring threat out of the game, then it's difficult to win games," said Rose. "If you then break down from a set-piece, you lose games."

Does Rose face retirement?

Graz had scored the only goal of the game through Arjan Malic from a corner. Leipzig have had problems in possession for weeks. The Saxons often only score goals thanks to the individual class of their players, but that was also lacking against Graz. "Once again, we didn't manage to put on the pitch what we work for every day," said Rose. Overall, they played a "weak and disappointing" Champions League.

The criticism of Rose in the club's environment will not diminish as a result of the performance in Austria. At the end of last year, when they failed to win a single game in November and then lost 5-1 at home to VfL Wolfsburg in December, Rose was already on the brink of retirement. At the time, Jürgen Klopp, global head of soccer at the Red Bull Group, reportedly stood up for his former player.

During the winter break, supervisory board chairman Oliver Mintzlaff repeatedly emphasized that the club wanted to continue working with Rose. An analysis will then be carried out at the end of the season. However, there could be a premature separation as the team has not developed. According to "Sport Bild", Zsolt Löw, who has just been hired for the Klopp team, would be available as interim coach.