Leipzig are the nominal Herbstmeister (autumn champions) mid-season, two points ahead of second-place Borussia Mönchengladbach, and while Borussia Dortmund still have plans to dethrone Bayern Munich, what if the Saxony team were destined to end the Bavarians’ dominance instead?in the Bundesliga?
bundesliga. com evaluates five reasons why they can be champions. . .
1) The Nagelsmann factor
There’s a big explanation as to why some observers, including Dortmund captain Marco Reus, have given Leipzig the name challenger this season. This is of course Julian Nagelsmann, who left Hoffenheim at the end of 2018/19 to upgrade Ralf Rangnick to the seat.
Nagelsmann, the youngest permanent head coach in Bundesliga history when he took charge of Hoffenheim at the age of 28, after serving his credentials on the sidelines by leading the club’s Under-19s to the name of the Under-19 Bundesliga in 2014.
By taking the reins of the first team, he saved them from relegation before guiding them to the top four in a row. He also led Sinsheim to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, and the apparent next step for him is to win silverware.
Now 32, Nagelsmann has responded definitively to Rangnick’s suggestion to pursue titles with Leipzig, and more recently said his new club “is already in a position to challenge Bayern”.
See: Nagelsmann, a coach
That proved to be the case on Matchday 4 when the two heavyweights met at the Red Bull Arena, with a Forsberg penalty nullifying Robert Lewandowski’s early goal when it ended 1-1.
Nagelsmann has a fairly balanced record compared to the record Bundesliga champions (two wins, two draws, 3 losses) and is not only convinced that his fees can last until May, but he has publicly stated that the goal is to win titles.
“I’m sure we’re going to have a smart season,” he told bundesliga. com at the start of 2019/20. “I don’t know if it will be enough to win the title. With Kloppo [Jürgen Klopp], it took 3 years [for him to win something] in Dortmund and Liverpool.
“We would all be satisfied if we could win something in 3 years. Of course, we would have nothing to object to this before, but 4 years would also be acceptable. It would be wonderful if we could do that. That’s our goal. “
Watch: A tactical investigation of Leipzig’s 1-1 draw with Bayern
Defenses win championships, as the old cliché goes, and a resilient bottom line is the foundation on which bids for a successful name rest. After scoring just 20 goals in 17 league games (and 8 of six in qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League), Leipzig’s defensive record was improved only through Gladbach and Wolfsburg (both conceded 18).
Goalkeeper Peter Gulasci kept 16 bright blanks in 33 Bundesliga games last season, and Leipzig conceded just 29 goals in 34 games in total. So far this season, they have ruled out Union Berlin, Werder Bremen, Mainz and Fortuna Düsseldorf, while conceding just one goal to European players Eintracht Frankfurt, Gladbach, Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
Also, incredibly talented French defenders Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate would arguably still be just 20 years old, but Lewandowski recently named the duo as two of the most productive players they’ve met in the Bundesliga. The injuries have meant the couple has covered up only once. so far this season, the whitewashed 3-0 of Werder Bremen on the fifth day. Konaté has not played since, with Leipzig unbeaten in their five league games this season (W4, D1) and keeping two blank sheets in the process. Imagine how smart Leipzig will be when they are back and in wonderful shape.
And if that were not enough, it just so happens that next to them are the new starting full-backs of Germany, Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg. 3 goals and 3 assists this season. Which brings us perfectly to the next point. . .
Along with Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen, Leipzig had two of the Bundesliga’s top 10 scorers last season. German foreigner Werner finished with 16 league goals and seven assists, while Poulsen had his most prolific year yet, Denmark’s only Werner in the final. Scoring tables after waving the net 15 times on the maximum sensitive flight.
Leipzig have already scored a league-high 48 goals in their first 17 outings in 2019/20, averaging almost 3 consistent with the game, and have the most productive goal difference (plus 28) in the Bundesliga. Having discovered the back of the net 18 incredible times, adding his first Bundesliga hat-trick at Borussia Park, which he followed with a hat-trick of goals and assists. When you realize that Foreign Germany also keeps up speed with Lewandowski’s frankly ridiculous feats, it’s clear how hard the 23-year-old fits in with Nagelsmann.
He has been ably helped and encouraged by Forsberg, who, with four passes and two assists so far, is back in his most productive form after suffering a series of injuries over the past 18 months. A special mention also goes to Marcel Sabitzer, who is more clinical than ever this season and has scored six passes and 4 assists.
In fact, having such useful features is part of Leipzig’s arsenal: they have already had a record of thirteen other goalscorers (including five defenders!) Already this season. For context, Bayern had another 12 goalscorers, Gladbach and Dortmund 11.
Watch: Werner’s mixtape in the Bundesliga
While all the attention last year was whether Dortmund could retain Bayern’s title, Leipzig went unnoticed to finish comfortably in third place. Ragnick’s men were just 12 numbers from Bayern and 10 from Dortmund. They may have been even closer had they not: with a Champions League position already secured, they softened to rack up just two problems out of nine in their last 3 games.
Leipzig have lost just six league games all season, were ambushed in Dortmund on opening day and wasted a close game in the opposite game. defeat to Dortmund on 19 January, they remained unbeaten until the final day’s defeat at Werder Bremen. Die Roten Bullen have only been beaten once at home and lately enjoy a five-game unbeaten run at the Red Bull Arena. In addition, Leipzig have lost 12 matches in all competitions since their defeat in Freiburg on matchday 9.
After all, this is a club that is no stranger to the upper echelons of the Bundesliga, having won a very good second place in its first high-flying crusade under Ralph Hasenhüttl in 2016/17. Nagelsmann now hopes to provide the X-factor that will make them champions of Germany for the first time.
Leipzig’s recruitment policy is the envy of many clubs, and by the winter of 2018 they were already cleverly making plans for the 2019/20 campaign. Energetic central midfielders Tyler Adams and Amadou Haidara have now had time to acclimatize, and foreigner American Adams returned to the team. team with a bang after shaking off an embarrassing groin injury to earn Man of the Day honours for his role in the 3-1 win over Augsburg.
An already solid squad has been bolstered with a number of new additions over the summer, with the arrival of Ethan Ampadu, Luan Candido, former Hannover goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner, Ademola Lookman and Christopher Nkunku.
The latter in particular has taken off since his departure from Paris Saint-Germain and has earned a normal starting position under Nagelsmann. His pace, cunning and sense of action have been decisive this season and his comeback of three goals and seven assists is testament to his quality.
Austrian striker Hannes Wolf is now regaining his feet after a nasty injury at the European Under-21 Championship this summer, and it looks like an exciting prospect. Wolf had incredibly impressive performances for Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League last season, in two opposite games. to Leipzig, and has made two appearances in recent weeks.
Apart from Tschauner, 33, the newcomers may be young, but they are all talented, hungry and highly sought-after players. With Bruma as their only notable start, Leipzig now have the numbers and quality to fight on the fronts, and perhaps to remain the course in a name race.
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