New Delhi: RB Leipzig have been a mainstay in the Bundesliga ever since earning promotion to the top tier of German football in 2016 and have firmly been one of the best teams in the league. Die Roten Bullen have only finished outside the top four on one occasion and even then they managed a respectable sixth-placed finish. Last season as well, the Red Bull-owned club finished fourth in the league, securing another season of UEFA Champions League football.
Once Julien Nagelsmann departed the club in 2021, they struggled to replace the German prodigy, going through three managers in a little over a year. Jesse Marsch, Achim Beierlorzer, and Domenico Tedesco all failed to achieve the desired results and finally, Marco Rose was brought in. Rose has stabilized the ship ever since joining in September 2022, guiding the club to two top-four finishes in his first two seasons in charge.
Their previous campaign was a highly successful one for them and saw some massive individual performances from some of the club’s star players. Both fullbacks, David Raum and Benjamin Henrichs were excellent in attack, getting a combined 21 assists for the club. Dani Olmo, Xavier Schlager and PSG loanee Xavi Simons added the creative spark from the middle while the strikeforce of Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko smashed 46 goals between the two of them in a single season.
RB Leipzig’s Tactical Prospects for the 2024/25 season
Marco Rose understands the Red Bull system well having spent seven years at RB Salzburg before joining RB Leipzig. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Marco Rose has stabilized the club ever since his takeover and the team looks to be a threat once again under the German manager. Rose has preferred using a 4-2-4 which can sometimes transition into a 4-2-2-2, a system that is very well known to the Leipzig fans. His approach involves a direct play where his team looks to create straightforward attacks, rather than creating complex moves.
His team works well on counter attacks as well, utilizing the burst of pace that both Sesko and Openda are capable of producing.Their generally prefer to attack swiftly up the pitch and find their front four directly. His team are comfortable of playing out from the back but also never shy away from playing a long ball forward, with the aim of either getting on the end of one and even if they lose out, they have enough numbers forward that they can pounce on the lose ball.
Marco Rose loves playing a diamond in midfield and his Leipzig team would do that with Olmo and Simons both capable of drifting out wide and providing the diamond midfield that Rose prefers. His biggest problem to address this season would be finding the right person to replace Dani Olmo in his squad as he’s the only big exclusion from the side.
Transfer Analysis
Xavi Simons and Benjamin Sesko were two of their best players last season (Photo by Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
RB Leipzig have had a relatively quiet window this season and two of the best moves they’ve made come in the form of the retentions they’ve done this season. Benjamin Sesko’s name was on everyone’s radar after his season with the club, with Arsenal and Chelsea heavily linked with the Slovakian. However, Leipzig were able to convince the 21-year-old to reject interest from big English sides and sign a new contract with the German club.
The next big retention they were able to do was to keep hold of Xavi Simons for another season at the club. Simons had a fantastic spell on loan last season, contribution to 25 goals and drew a lot of interest from various clubs. PSG weren’t ready to sell him but were interested in loaning him out for another season, which led to Leipzig fighting off interest from Bayern Munich to get the attacker back for another season.
Apart from getting Simons back, they also brought in a couple of talented youngsters from the Belgian league, Maarten Vandevoordt and Antonio Nusa. Vandevoordt has long been seen as another one in a line of brilliant Belgian keepers and could be the man to replace Petr Gulacsi in goal. Nusa is a highly-rated Norweigian winger who’s capable of playing across the front three and just scored on his Leipzig debut in the DfB-Pokal.
As mentioned earlier, Olmo’s sale to Barcelona can have a huge effect on their season considering he was an integral player for the team but they’ve gotten the cash to replace him and should be looking at getting in a proper replacement for the Spaniard. Not replacing Olmo well enough could come back to haunt them this season especially if Nusa’s move doesn’t work out as well.
Early Prediction: Top four once again
Another top-four finish is on the cards for Leipzig, but can they do better? (Photo by Frederic Scheidemann/Getty Images)
RB Leipzig have now gotten used to finishing in the top 4 of German football and it should be the case for them once again this season. They have a settled squad, haven’t been dismantled by other clubs in the transfer window and Rose is now in his third year at the club. They’ve managed to retain the core of their squad and that is a huge move for the Red Bull club.
All signs point towards another top-four finish for them but they’d definitely want to challenge for the title this year. Seeting Bayer Leverkusen pip Bayern to the title last season must’ve given them some hope of producing a similar upset as it showed that the Bavarian club aren’t indestructible. If they can get a suitable replacement for Dani Olmo in the days that are remaining in the transfer window, I can even see them challenging for the title.
If there is any time for Leipzig to win the Bundesliga, it has to be this year. Xabi Alonso has one of the most difficult tasks this season i.e. trying to follow his incredible 2023/24 and it’ll be a tough ask for the Spaniard. Leverkusen had no pressure on them last season but this time all eyes will be on them and it can become a problem for them. The two other German giants, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, both have unproven new managers at the helm in Vincent Kompany and Nuri Sahin.
A suitable replacement for Olmo could see the club propel into the title race and that will be the best thing for us neutrals and for German football as a whole.
RB Leipzig would be looking to build on their top four finish from last campaign and would certainly want to be amongst the title contenders for the upcoming Bundesliga season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
