He is a difference player, but there is a big question mark behind him: RB Leipzig is worried about “Three Pack Nkunku”. Champions League opponent Manchester City definitely has to cope with a notable failure.
Coach Marco Rose delivered the bad news right at the beginning of the press conference: Christopher Nkunku may be absent from RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening (radio report and live ticker from 9 p.m.). “He reacted muscularly to his stress in the Wolfsburg game.” A starting eleven against Manchester City was not planned anyway, but: “Now we have to see how the problems develop. If he can even be there.”
Last Saturday, Rose sent his star striker onto the pitch for 20 minutes against VfL Wolfsburg. The comeback after the knee injury and a break of almost 100 days looked promising. And the Frenchman himself emphasized during training on Tuesday that the difficult time was behind him: “I’m ready for the game.” A few hours later, Rose put it into perspective.
Two difference players at Man City
But Manchester City also has to cope with a – fixed – failure: Kevin de Bruyne is ailing and is not in the squad for the first leg of the round of 16. The fact that the Belgian national player and top scorer of the “Citizens” is missing in Leipzig is no small thing for RB coach Rose: “Besides the world-class players they have, Kevin de Bruyne is again world-class world-class much.”
The focus of the fans and media is anyway on another player: Erling Haaland. The just 22-year-old Norwegian elemental force knows where the goal is. Especially against Leipzig. He netted six times in just four games against RB. “When he sees the goal, he goes crazy. He just wants to score,” explained Marco Rose in awe.
Full hut
Haaland will probably not be taken into good old man coverage. Stopping him is “difficult,” said Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg. You have to “defend him as a team to stop him”. Coach Rose agrees, but also counts on the “12th man”. In any case, the Leipzig stadium is sold out with 45,228 spectators. The fans – including 2,500 from England – will certainly sound the alarm.
