And suddenly favorite. Under the new coach Domenico Tedesco, RB Leipzig continued its successful run on Thursday evening (April 14, 2022) in Bergamo. After 13 games in a row and with a ripped off 2-0 win in Bergamo’s cauldron Leipzig made it into the semi-finals of the Europa League for the first time. The chances of winning the first title in the club’s history are not bad at all for Leipzig, who are still in the running for the DFB Cup.
Bergamo captain Freuler: “I trust Leipzig a lot”
At least that’s what Bergamo captain Roman Freuler thinks: “I have a lot of faith in Leipzig,” said the Swiss on TV broadcaster RTL: “They have everything in their hands now. In the semifinals against Braga or Rangers, they’re more of a favorite than a non- Favourite. And anything can happen in the final.” Freuler’s statement makes RB coach Tedesco smile: “It’s nice to hear, because Freuler also experienced us. I think that’s primarily a compliment.”
Semi-final against Glasgow Rangers
In the semifinals, it has been clear since Thursday evening, that the Leipzig team will now have to play against Glasgow Rangers, second in the Scottish Premiership. Glasgow beat Portugal’s SC Braga 3-1 after extra time. On April 28th in Leipzig and on May 5th in Glasgow the two clubs will meet for the first time in a competitive match. The two clubs have already played against each other in a friendly match – in January 2017, RB won 4-0.
Tedesco: “Striving for more”
This time the Rangers should only be a stop on the way to the Europa League final in Seville. “We want to get to the final,” said RB attacker Yussuf Poulsen. And Tedesco also agrees: “We’re striving for more now. If you’re in the semifinals, of course you want to get to the final, that’s clear.”
Nkunku on Benzema and Mbappe tracks
Goal scorer Christopher Nkunku is already looking ahead to the final on May 18 in Seville. “We’ve worked hard and want to try to win the cup,” said Leipzig’s top scorer, who, with his brace from Bergamo, became the third Frenchman with at least 30 goals this season. Karim Benzema (38) and Kylian Mbappe (31) are ahead of Nkunku, who was also the Leipzig Tore insurance company in Bergamo.
Bookmaker: Leipzig wins Europa League
With various betting providers, the people of Leipzig are now also favorites to win the Europa League. At bwin, for example, odds of 2.1 are paid out, Glasgow is a clear outsider (9.0), and the other semi-finalists West Ham United (2.8) and Eintracht Frankfurt (6.0) also achieve lower odds.
German-German final against Frankfurt?
After Eintracht Frankfurt’s sensational 3-2 victory on Thursday in a “magical night” at FC Barcelona, a German-German Europa League final even seems possible. In the twelve years since the successor to the UEFA Cup came into being, no German team had made it to the final.
Five-year ranking: Germany past Italy
In addition, the entry of the two German clubs into the semi-finals has a positive effect on the five-year ranking of the UEFA. Germany, previously fourth, will overtake third-placed Italy despite Bayern Munich’s quarter-final elimination in the Champions League. Leipzig and Frankfurt thus further secured their starting places in the Bundesliga in European competitions. Four Champions League tickets, two Europa League and one European Conference League starting places go to the Bundesliga. There may even be a fifth ticket in the premier class – for a Europa League winner. And then RB Leipzig is suddenly a favorite.
Dirk Hofmeister