Leipzig in crisis

RB reprieve, but: Rose by a thread!

Despite a reprieve, Marco Rose probably has no future as coach of RB Leipzig.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ronny HARTMANN)

RB Leipzig are in a negative spiral in the German Bundesliga. After their 2-1 defeat to Mainz on Saturday, the Saxons are in serious danger of not qualifying for the Champions League and the air is getting thinner and thinner for Marco Rose despite reaching the cup semi-finals. Leipzig's head coach is to be given another chance in Saturday's match at SC Freiburg. However, the signs are pointing to a farewell.

After the home defeat against Mainz, RB sporting director Marcel Schäfer did not want to comment on the coaching issue; at the end of November, he had publicly supported Rose in a similar situation after the 5-1 defeat against Wolfsburg. The former Salzburg coach struggled with his team's performance. "We invited the opposition in, didn't really run back and conceded two easy goals," said Rose. Once again, his team had "no feeling for decisive situations, decisive phases of the game, defending the goal with everything. We lost that again today, which is very disappointing."

Weak record in second half of season
Leipzig slipped to sixth place in the Bundesliga after a poor record in the second half of the season - after five draws and one win, they have now suffered their first defeat. In the Champions League, RB were disgracefully eliminated in the league phase with just one win. At least the club is on target in the DFB Cup, having reached the semi-finals.

It almost seemed as if the promotion in the cup had spurred the team on against Mainz. However, Xavi Simons' lightning goal after 58 seconds of play was followed by Nadiem Amiri's equalizer after the break (52'), and Jonathan Burkardt (58') added another for the visitors shortly afterwards. Nicolas Seiwald came into the game immediately afterwards. Christoph Baumgartner was missing from the Austrian trio due to a yellow card suspension, while Xaver Schlager is still injured.

Wimmer lets Wolfsburg celebrate
Wolfsburg are now also close to Leipzig. Three days after the unfortunate exit in the Cup against RB, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl's team won 2:1 in Bremen. Patrick Wimmer scored a brace for the Wolfsburg side. The Lower Austrian spoke of important points. "It's very important for the table, but also for the next few weeks, when we enter the decisive phase. That we can take our self-confidence with us and also beat our direct rivals," said Wimmer. Wolfsburg now have games against teams behind them on their schedule before their next clash with Leipzig in mid-April.