RB Leipzig made a fool of themselves at the start of the Champions League. After the 1: 4 against Shakhtar Donetsk, the pressure on coach Domenico Tedesco is increasing enormously.
The stunned Domenico Tedesco scratched his chin. The deeply disappointed coach of RB Leipzig had to digest the 1: 4 (0: 1) disgrace at the start of the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk. After the false start in the Bundesliga, the situation is getting more and more precarious for him.
“It’s difficult to put into words. The course of the game is amazing. The boys wanted,” said Tedesco on “DAZN”: “It’s brutal. I’m very disappointed.”
A bad blackout by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi initiated RB Leipzig’s embarrassing false start in the Champions League and massively exacerbated the crisis of the DFB Cup winners.
Marjan Schwed (16th/58th), Mychajlo Mudryk (76th) and Lassina Traore (85th) shocked RB. The first goal conceded, captain Gulacsi put the ball in the foot of Donetk’s winger. Mohamed Simakan (57th) scored for Leipzig to equalize in the meantime.
The game took place under emotional circumstances. Donetsk became the first Ukrainian club to play in the Champions League since the start of the Russian invasion. “We bear responsibility for our country and our club,” said coach Igor Jovicevic.
Tedesco on speculation: “It’s part of it”
From a sporting point of view, the match was a special one for Tedesco. After the poor start to the season in the Bundesliga, the 36-year-old was heavily criticized. A possible successor is said to be already available in the former Gladbach and Dortmund coach Marco Rose. “That’s part of it. It’s very fast-moving,” Tedesco had said about the speculation.
For the turnaround, Tedesco made two noticeable changes in the starting XI. Abdou Diallo, who recently came from Paris St. Germain, celebrated his RB premiere in central defence. Xaver Schlager, who has hardly been considered in the league so far, started in the center.
RB started nervously. Smaller individual mistakes had no consequences, but disrupted the build-up of the game. The switching game, on the other hand, worked well. Werner, who was often on the left wing, was sent by Willi Orban, but then made a mistake in the penalty area (3′). Two minutes later, a sharp cross from Dominik Szoboszlai failed to reach the national striker.
Whistle concert during the break in Leipzig
The hustle and bustle of the first few minutes put Leipzig off. Tedesco’s team gained security through a strong presence in midfield, many duels won and advances on the wings. Christopher Nkunku (12th) had the lead on his feet after a good combination. But Donetsk succeeded: After a Schlager back pass, Gulacsi frittered away the ball, Schwed pushed in from around 30 meters.
The self-inflicted setback in the middle of their own urge phase took Leipzig’s momentum. The previously good coordination and offensive dynamics were lost, attacks were played improperly. The Ukrainians largely limited themselves to defensive work. The dissatisfaction was also reflected in the ranks. At the break, the 41,591 fans said goodbye to their team with a whoop of whistles in the dressing room.
After the break, Leipzig showed more offensive drive again and stuck to the opposing penalty area. Simakan made RB cheer. The joy was short-lived: in return, Donetsk took the lead again. Orban deflected untenably. The hosts pushed for the equalizer. But then Donetsk countered – Mudrik made the decision. Traore made the embarrassment perfect.