The end of the Champions League is looming, the pressure on coach Marco Rose and Co. is increasing: RB Leipzig is slipping deeper and deeper into the crisis after the next blow in the neck. The Saxons, who had been too harmless for a long time, suffered a bitter 0-1 (0-1) against Inter Milan's star ensemble on Tuesday, it was their fifth defeat in the fifth premier class game. With no points at all, the play-offs are becoming increasingly distant with three game days to go before the end of the league phase.
An own goal from defender Castello Lukeba (27th) caused RB's next defeat. Although it is still mathematically possible to advance in the Champions League, this would require a lot of points from the final games against Aston Villa (December 10th), Sporting Lisbon (January 22nd) and Sturm Graz (January 29th) – and the competition would have to play along. For the play-offs, RB has to finish at least 24th in the new 36-player league.
To the match center: Inter Milan vs. RB Leipzig
Overall, Rose and his team, which is plagued by injuries, are increasingly coming under pressure; Leipzig has not won in five competitive games. In the Bundesliga on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) against VfL Wolfsburg they urgently need a sense of success, just four days later RB also has to deliver in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt.
“We have to play football with courage and patience“, Rose, who only had 15 field players at his disposal in Milan, had demanded before the game. And the coach also showed courage when he surprised Andre Silva in the attack. The Portuguese, who had so far only made short appearances, replaced Benjamin Sesko, whom Rose wanted to give a break – but at the beginning there was hardly anything going forward at RB.
RB Leipzig is not moving
Inter controlled the ball and repeatedly let it pass through the RB ranks. And on the other hand, he was allowed to switch quickly after Leipzig lost the ball too carelessly. Balls repeatedly sailed dangerously into the German penalty area, Federico Dimarco (8th) tested goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi more seriously for the first time with a mixture of cross and shot.
Leipzig was almost exclusively defensive in this phase, held up in the duels, but then, as so often in the past few weeks, acted extremely poorly. When Dimarco curled a free kick sharply from the side in front of the goal, Lukeba deflected it into his own net. The goal had become apparent and Inter followed up almost immediately.
Only on the line did Christoph Baumgartner clear a header from ex-Munich player Benjamin Pavard (31') after a free kick assist from Hakan Calhanoglu. In the ensuing turmoil, the Saxons clarified the situation as a group, but they were hardly able to relieve the pressure or even create big chances until the break, although Milan initially dominated afterwards.
Just five minutes after the restart, Dimarco put world champion Lautaro Martinez (50th) in the spotlight, but the Argentine missed. As in the first half, Milan forced the guests into their own half – and posed danger. Gulacsi carefully parried a long-range shot from Calhanoglu (54'), and a little later Martinez's strike partner Mehdi Taremi (57') headed just over the goal. The best Leipzig opportunity to date was missed by young professional Antonio Nusa (69th), who was denied by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer from twelve meters.
