His first idea might be “with great help from Christopher Nkunku. “The Paris Saint-German forward reached the most productive form of his career after Marsch appointed Julian Nagelsmann, linked to Bayern Munich, generating five goals and three assists after 11. Parties. It also ignited a difficult UEFA Champions League organisational crusade with stars opposite Manchester City and PSG’s top employers; however, Marsch’s Leipzig is not an organization in itself.
Watch: Christopher Nkunku – PSG appears, what is being lost
Marsch himself deserves a lot of credit for lifting Leipzig from 12th position and a point above the relegation zone after matchday five less than a point from the Champions League before November’s foreign break.
The Americans have had to deal with the weight of Leipzig’s recent history: they momentarily finished in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup for the time being in 2020/21, not to mention the double start of defender Dayot Upamecano and captain Marcel Sabitzer at Bayern. Invariably, the effects were to be mixed, despite his Red Bull education.
After overseeing an even pre-season division (W1, D1, L1), the former Salzburg coach and assistant to Ralf Rangnick at Leipzig began his tenure with a comfortable 4-0 win over Bundesliga 2 side Sandhausen in the first round of the DFB Cup. . . A 1-0 away defeat to a well-trained Mainz unit followed, but the reaction, a 4-0 thrashing of VfB Stuttgart, was categorical.
Leipzig have lost their next 3 against Wolfsburg (1-0), Bayern (4-1) and Man City (6-3), before a 1-1 draw with Cologne stopped the slide. With Champions League knockout qualification beating them with two organisational matches to play, Die Roten Bullen have qualified for the last 16 DFB Cup matches, while racking up 15 problems out of 21 imaginable in an unbeaten progression up the Bundesliga standings.
In six of his seven games without losing, Marsch deployed a three-man defense. The only exception, matchday 8, conceded in Freiburg, third, themselves unbeaten until they lost 2-0 to Bayern on matchday 11. A more conservative technique yielded the first goal and a point, in all cases. Four wins on aggregate at 15-2 and a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt complete the set.
“We have invested a lot in recent weeks and expected more, but difficulties are opportunities to improve,” Marsch said after Leipzig’s 2-1 home win over Dortmund ahead of the final round of 2021 internationals. “It’s never been easy” going to bed every night and thinking about the next game. Today was very, very vital for us. We were very confident and also played well on an individual level. “
Watch: Leipzig 2-1 Dortmund: Match highlights!
Marsch went on to praise singles Mohamed Simakan and Josko Gvardiol, calling the budding defensive duo, 21 and 19 respectively, “world class. “Introduced to upgrade Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate, they are among Leipzig’s two smartest for Bundesliga challenges.
Frenchman Nordi Mukiele has ruled the last 3 against Dortmund, but veteran defender Willi Orban continues to play in his seventh season at the club. , anonymous workaholic Kevin Kampl and Austrian foreigner Konrad Laimer.
Angelino hasn’t reached the same heights in terms of purposeful contributions as last season, but it’s still the more sensible pick on the left side. Benjamin Henrichs began to share responsibilities on the opposite flank, definitively answering his coach’s call to get rid of social networks and concentrate on his football.
With a shaky start, Leipzig have the worst defense at the moment in the Bundesliga, with 11 goals conceded. They are also fourth in goals scored (23), only Bayer Leverkusen (24), Dortmund (28) and Bayern (40). the offensive wealth at Marsch’s disposal, this is not surprising.
In the absence of Dani Olmo, who recently returned to the fold after a grueling summer foreign soccer program with Spain, Nkunku has taken on the role of creative leader. The 23-year-old has discovered his calling in attacking midfield, although he dragged Dortmund’s defenders into the shop to a fake role of number nine plus free last time around. In the entire league, only Robert Lewandowski (14), Erling Haaland, Thomas Müller (both 12) and Anthony Modeste (nine) have been directly involved in more points than the Leipzig boy (eight).
January 2021 signing Dominik Szoboszlai is not far behind. After an injury-delayed start to his career at Leipzig, the Hungarian foreigner scored two goals and one helped in seven Bundesliga matches, while scoring one and putting two on the scene. 3 replacement outputs. Starting 3 of Leipzig’s last 4 games, the nominee for rookie of the month for October seems to have surpassed veteran pro Emil Forsberg in the pecking order.
Yussef Poulsen is a shrewd veteran who advocates being the leader of Leipzig. Based at the Red Bull Arena since 2013, when Leipzig were still in the 3rd division, the Saxony club’s record holder has scored 4 times in his last six Bundesliga matches, with his winner against Dortmund marking his third appearance as a goalscorer. a row. Historically, the Dane hasn’t been the top prolific sniper — 15 is his highest private production in a season — but he adds ancient metal to Nkunku and Szoboszlai’s silky attacking skills.
The fact that Poulsen could bench Andre Silva, the Portugal foreigner who scored a record 28 Bundesliga goals for Frankfurt in 2020/21, underlines Marsch’s statement that “Leipzig probably has the maximum strength deep in the league. “Fringe players such as Brian Brobbey, Ilaix Moriba and Hugo Novoa, as well as a remedy room that lately houses German foreigners Marcel Halstenberg and Lukas Klostermann, reinforce this theory.
“We have a lot of intensity in our team, which allows us to play very intense football,” said Leipzig’s tactical master, who responded to Dortmund captain Marco Reus’ equalizing goal by switching to 4 full-backs and introducing Forsberg in attack. “One way to do things is to faint with the same team, like Bayern. But we use the intensity of our team to rotate. “
See: Yussuf Poulsen, a die-hard Leipzig fan
It remains to be seen whether Leipzig can salvage a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, but it is transparent that they are decidedly well stocked for a possible defeat in three competitions in the new year. Walking together, a season that started with one kind of moan can end with a bang.
Chris Mayer-Lodge
The centre-back has agreed to extend his contract for one year at Signal Iduna Park.
See what jerseys your favorite players will be wearing next season and get the jerseys as soon as they come out.
Schalke, Stuttgart, Bochum and Augsburg fight to follow Hertha in the division of the moment. . .
Football as it should be
Powered by
© 2023 DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH