What’s behind RB Leipzig’s unexpected autumn descent?

RB Leipzig have had the worst autumn in their very short Bundesliga history. After halfway through the competition, nine teams are ahead of the ambitious club from Saxony. There are several reasons why theRoten Bullen are in the middle of the table.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann left the team in the summer for Bayern Munich. His successor is Jesse Marsch, who previously coached at Salzburg, another RB team.

But Marsch was given a squad that was missing the big stars Upamecano, Konaté and Sabitzer, who all left in the summer. The first two were replaced by the youngsters Gvardiol and Simakan.

However, neither of them has yet been able to replace the French duo. While Gvardiol and Simakan are promising and good footballers, they lack the confidence, self-assurance and leadership of the pair of Upamecano and Konaté.

Leipzig were considering the arrival of Maxence Lacroix, a 21-year-old French stopper who had a successful last season at Wolfsburg. But the transfer was not completed.

In Marcel Sabitzer left a midfield stalwart who, not coincidentally, wore the captain’s armband in many matches. Fast, tireless, emphatic, with a balanced defensive and offensive game and above all a footballer with a winning mentality.

While there are several central midfielders in Leipzig’s squad, none of them are of the same type as Sabitzer. Kevin Kampl is probably the closest to his role, but he is too defensive-minded and not productive enough.

Similarly, Konrad Laimer lacks the offensive quality and productivity of his compatriot Sabitzer. Well, the reinforcements for the offensive part of the squad didn’t work out too well for Leipzig in the summer either.

André Silva came with the calling card of the second best Bundesliga scorer of the past season, surpassing even Erling Haaland. Frankfurt’s game, which relied heavily on wing attacks and crosses into the box, suited him better.

Barcelona’s talent Ilaix Moriba, who arrived in the summer for 16 million euros, has only played 30 minutes in the Bundesliga so far. Striker Brian Brobbey is not much better off either.

The promising Dutchman arrived from Ajax before the season. In the autumn, he played nine league games, but only notched up two assists. In addition, Leipzig were missing important players for a shorter or longer period of time due to health reasons.

Klostermann, Angelino, Poulsen and Olmo were all sick during the autumn. Perhaps only Christopher Nkunku was in above-average form and could be said to have largely pulled his team through on his own.

Moreover, the club let sporting director Markus Krösche leave for Frankfurt in April and to this day has not brought in a replacement. Something that certainly wouldn’t have happened in Ralf Rangnick’s time.

After the sacking of coach Marsch, Leipzig are trying it out with young Domenico Tedesco. Only at the end of the season will we see if this ambitious club can catch form and rediscover lost confidence.

Source: Kicker, Transfermarkt