Leipzig and Rose are left without answers as Stuttgart’s dreams move forward

Photo: Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images

August seems like so long ago. On the subdued evening that saw Harry Kane introduced to a jubilant Allianz Arena, it was actually RB Leipzig who were running the show, and how it was.

Then-newcomer Xavi Simons was stunning his new fans with how good he was, leaving Germany’s biggest club wondering why they didn’t have a player like that and perhaps leaving Paris Saint-Germain wondering why they didn’t have a player like that . He kept him instead of sending him out on loan. Since Leipizig’s impressive Super Cup display, the Dutch midfielder has spent much of the season giving the impression that he is the best player in the Bundesliga, or close enough to it. But against their direct rivals in Stuttgart on Saturday, they had to make do without him as they were suspended for picking up their fifth yellow card of the season against Leverkusen. And this game was all about dealing with the staff hand you were dealt or not dealt with, as the case may be.

The home side also had a significant absence to deal with, but their reaction was emphatic. Stuttgart have managed to break into the top four this season and were still in the Champions League at kick-off, despite back-to-back defeats giving the feeling that they had a slightly delayed level up in the season. Instead they sent Leipzig home with their tails between their legs; They got their first win since top scorer Serhou Guirassy went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Deniz Undav’s hat-trick. There had previously been hints that the on-loan Brighton striker’s goals would be a success, especially when the Guinean was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the autumn. The fact is that Stuttgart’s record without Guirassy in the Bundesliga this season is four times played, four times lost. This broke up this series in spectacular fashion.

Some may have wondered whether the quiet opening minutes of the match would suit the visitors as part of the latest fan protest against private equity investment in the Bundesliga. Yet, like a motorist frustrated by roadworks on the motorway and suddenly relieved of this obligation, the Cannstatter Kurve roared as their stop-fire period expired and Leipzig went under the pump. The 5-2 scoreline did not please Sebastian Hoeness’ side in any way.

The story continues

So while the manager and the Stuttgart team continue to play the second half of the season without pressure, on home money, far from their typical fight against the drop, Leipzig face a completely opposite scenario. There are days when they can look like the best team in the Bundesliga. They were a mob here. Champions League qualification is the bare minimum for Stuttgart, rather than a pleasant dream. The defeat, the Bundesliga’s third consecutive defeat in 2024, saw Leipzig drop out of the top four. Leipzig-born Marco Rose, a graduate of the Red Bull school for coaching, looks like the perfect candidate since his arrival in 2022, but the contract extension he signed in July will not fool him. He needs to turn this around quickly, as previous incumbents like Jesse Marsch and Domenico Tedesco can tell him. This is a club that runs holistically but burns with ambition.

The necessary raw materials for Rose are definitely available. Benjamin Sesko is showing signs that he can do for Leipzig what Undav can do for his rivals. His header in the first half that brought RB back into the game was one of those headers that made you believe he could be unstoppable, rising effortlessly to slot home David Raum’s shot. But young Slovenian Sesko is just learning. Undav’s composure is more than confidence; This sees him as someone who could play a key role for Germany at Euro 2024. There is a growing belief that he is currently the most naturally qualified German finisher in the league.

Leipzig have a prolific player in Loïs Openda and she briefly dragged them back into this game with her 13th goal of the Bundesliga season, but they need more. Rose later told Sky that the key to the results was “it’s all in our heads”. He knows his team needs to clarify these thoughts immediately. A club always in a hurry to progress, it has never accepted suggestions of transitional seasons or phases of development and will not start now.

Dortmund 3-1 Bochum, Union Berlin 1-0 Darmstadt, Leverkusen 0-0 Mönchengladbach, Augsburg 2-3 Bayern, Hoffenheim 1-1 Heidenheim, Stuttgart 5-2 RB Leipzig, Werder Bremen 3-1 Freiburg, Wolfsburg 1-1 Cologne , Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Mainz.

talking points

• Bayern Munich’s week was a challenging but rewarding one; A hard-fought 3-2 win in Augsburg on Saturday closed the gap at the top to two points with a 1-0 win against Union Berlin after Wednesday night’s match. There were positive developments for Thomas Tuchel and his team, including increasingly impressive young midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic’s first goal in the Bundesliga and Alphonso Davies’ first goal of the season.

Harry Kane’s goal, which ultimately turned out to be the winner, was his 23rd goal in the league and ended a (gasp!) two-game goalless streak. Kingsley Coman’s knee injury in the first half was not well received, with Tuchel predicting it will keep the French winger out “for a while”. Bayern have at least strengthened an area of ​​real need and Coman’s compatriot has confirmed the €30 million signing of Galatasaray right-back Sacha Boey for a starting fee. Raphaël Guerreiro, the winner of the match against Union, was appointed as an emergency substitute in the Augsburg position.

• In perhaps the most Bayern-style scenario of recent times, the under-firing champions earned a few more points on leaders Leverkusen, who could only manage a goalless draw despite an almost ridiculous level of dominance at home to Borussia Monchengladbach. The team with the most shots on goal in a match for two years and the team with the most passes in a match for four years. The subsequent loan signing of Spanish striker Borja Iglesias from Betis could help with some of these conversion issues.

• At the bottom, Union pick up a vital win after a midweek defeat; They beat bottom team Darmstadt with a goal from Benedict Hollerbach, but not in great style. While coach Nenad Bjelica, suspended after receiving a red card for striking Leroy Sané in the face (twice) in Munich, was in chairman Dirk Zingler’s box, all eyes were more focused off the pitch. Bjelica’s joint assistants Danijel Jumic (as head coach) and Marie-Louise Eta (on media duties) took charge of the game and will continue to do so in the remaining two matches of his suspension; Numerous reports have suggested that some players expressed surprise to the board that Bjelica was allowed to continue in his role.

• Speaking of failing to win style points, Borussia Dortmund moved into the top four with their third consecutive win in 2024, but had a sluggish atmosphere to beat Bochum in the “Little Derby”. Niclas Füllkrug’s two-penalty treble did the trick after Nico Schlotterbeck’s inevitable own goal invited the impressive visitors back into the game. The mood in the BVB camp is realistic, it is clear that further improvement is needed, but as Füllkrug points out, the winning streak against “exactly the kind of opponents we have problems with” is nothing to sneeze at.