RB Leipzig: Péter Gulácsi explains whereabouts – Champions League qualification is the most important thing

Full concentration before the Bayern duel

The unrest at FC Bayern does not play a role at RB Leipzig in the preparation for the top game on Saturday (6:30 p.m. / Sky) in the Allianz Arena. “We are focusing on our performance, which was very good in the last two away games in Munich. Even if the situation at Bayern isn’t that easy right now, Bayern Munich is still at home. You can’t go there and believe that everything will happen by itself,” said goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi in a media round on Tuesday after Leipzig’s public training session.

You need a top performance, especially a good collective defensive performance. “We know what quality Bayern have on offense, they are still a world-class team,” said Gulácsi, who at the same time relies on the offensive qualities of his teammates. “We will certainly have our space and opportunities, we have to use them.”

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For reasons of load control, the Hungarian national goalkeeper, like Amadou Haidara (26), Dani Olmo (25) and captain Willi Orbán (31), only completed parts of the team training on Tuesday. Olmo, in particular, who scored all three goals in the 3-0 win in the Supercup at the start of the season in Munich, was very important for the RB game, said Gulácsi: “He is someone who creates a lot of chances and can score goals himself , an important man in our build-up game.”

After a weak start to the new year, Gulácsi regained the place between the posts from Janis Blaswich (32). “After a long time, I played three games in a row again. As a precautionary measure, I only trained in the weight room on Tuesday and so controlled the load a little. “I plan to start training again on Wednesday,” said the current number one, who was courted by Nottingham Forest in the last transfer window.

Gulácsi explains staying at RB Leipzig – Champions League qualification is the most important thing

“I realized that I could have another chance here. I’ve been here at the club for a long time, I really appreciate how people supported me during my injury, I’ve lived here in Leipzig with my family for almost ten years – so there are many reasons why we didn’t even think about it in the end. It was the right decision,” explained Gulácsi. With him, Leipzig remained unbeaten in their last three Bundesliga games.

For coach Marco Rose, the choice between him and Blaswich was “definitely a very difficult decision,” emphasized Gulácsi, “because Janis did very, very well for a very long time. After my injury and my absence, he gave the team a lot. That was a phase in which we as a team didn’t have the necessary results and the coach tried to give new impetus. We’ve got seven points in the last three games – the direction is right now and we have to make sure it stays that way.”

His personal relationship with Blaswich is still good even after the change in goal. “We have a very high level of respect and appreciation for each other. When I was number two and Janis was number one, I tried to push him in training and support him before games. The most important thing is that we are successful as a team and that is above all else. Now in this reverse situation, Janis is doing the same thing and we are seeing that we are simply successful as a group of goalkeepers – as a collective,” explained Gulácsi, who sees himself back to his old form.

“If you’re out of rhythm for a long time, then it’s completely normal for things not to go perfectly on the first or second mission. However, the automatisms came back very quickly. It feels completely normal for me to be on the pitch again. The fact that I radiate calm from behind is not only important for me, but also for the team. We performed very confidently in the last two games, especially in defense. “It’s going in the right direction,” said Gulácsi. In seven games in 2024, there are only two wins. The focus is therefore first on the Bundesliga.

“Qualifying for the Champions League is the most important thing for us. And to date we have always achieved this goal. Of course we want to do that this year – even if it won’t be easy. You can see Stuttgart’s good run, Borussia Dortmund have a very high quality: It certainly won’t be an easy three-way battle. But there are still enough games – even against direct competitors. We look from game to game, as obvious as that may sound. We just have to and want to keep scoring,” the RB goalkeeper continued. In the premier class, after the 1-0 defeat in the first leg, “a difficult task” awaits Leipzig in the second leg of the round of 16 at Real Madrid (March 6th, 9 p.m.). “But you saw last week: nothing is impossible. We showed that we can be on a level playing field with Real Madrid. We are aware that things will be even more difficult in Madrid. But we will give everything and then see what (…) is possible.”

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