RB Leipzig and the “premier class”: It’s not a love affair this year. On Tuesday, the Rose team, still without a win, has to play against Aston Villa. If there is another defeat, the last hopes of the knockout round will be gone. But there is a ripped-off team waiting with a trainer with European Cup experience.
Marco Rose kept an eye on the remaining squad quite easily on Monday (December 9, 2024). In a thick winter parka and a white cap, the RB Leipzig coach watched closely as the rest of his field players prepared for the Champions League game this Tuesday on a gloomy, gray December day with floodlights at 3 p.m. Some would like to get a bit of fresh air, Rose said in the subsequent press conference, jokingly commenting on the different stresses on his staff in the final training.
Few players and no points
The currently thin squad doesn’t make it easy. After all, the upswing in earnings has recently provided new confidence that we can still achieve the almost impossible. Zero points after the first five games, 34th place in the new league phase of the Champions League. But only the top eight advance straight away. The 16 teams behind play in playoffs to advance.
“We got ourselves into the situation,” said Rose before the game this Tuesday (9 p.m. in the audio stream and live ticker) at home against Bayern conqueror Aston Villa. “We know that we need a win so that in January we still have the opportunity to get into the next round with two more wins.” There are still games against Sporting Lisbon and Sturm Graz coming up in the new year.
But one thing is also clear: If they lose, RB Leipzig would be out of the race for the knockout phase. Real Madrid, currently in 24th place, only has six points, but since the teams in front of RB are still playing against each other and will definitely get a point or two, RB would not get any further with a possible six points of their own.
Trend reversal has recently been achieved
However, opponents Aston Villa, who are trained by Spanish European Cup expert Unai Emery, are ninth with at least ten points. The British won their first three games, then suffered a 1-0 defeat at FC Brugge before drawing 0-0 against Juventus. Aston Villa is sixth in the Premier League.
Even if the chances of reaching the playoffs are probably only of a mathematical nature for the time being, the two competitive games recently came at the right time to gain new courage for the round of 16 mission. After six games without a win and five defeats, Leipzig had progressed DFB Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt done and got three points at Holstein Kiel. The doubts about the whereabouts of football teacher Rose were now off the table.
Kampl is definitely an option – despite his thick toe and ankle
What remains are the personnel problems. The fact that Xaver Schlager, who is fit again, was not registered for the premier class and is therefore not allowed to play, doesn’t make it any easier. “You can turn it back and forth as you want,” said Rose: “Xaver went along with the decision back then.”
After all, Kevin Kampl, who trained individually on Monday and recently only made a short appearance against Kiel, should definitely be an option despite his “big toe and thick ankle,” assured Rose.
dpa/SpiO
