Leipzig not intimidated by Champions League false start

RB Leipzig shines in the Bundesliga, but is still hoping for its first success in the revised Champions League.

Leipzig – Scholars are still arguing about the sense and nonsense of the major reform of the Champions League. The switch to a league phase with eight games each for all participants should mean more top games and attract the interest of viewers and therefore television broadcasters. With a view to RB Leipzig, the plan has definitely been confirmed.

In any case, the fourth-place team from the last Bundesliga season was paired with extremely attractive opponents. After games against Atlético Madrid and Juventus, the third matchday of the league phase is against Liverpool FC. Such a constellation would hardly have been possible in normal group phases. What is exciting for the spectators also has its sporting pitfalls. Leipzig is currently without a point.

Leipzig boss Schröder: “We don’t worry about what happens if …”

The reform also helps in this respect, because out of 36 participants only twelve have to give up immediately after the league phase. Whether it's teams from the international, less competitive national leagues, a Bundesliga team would almost have to aim to fail at the first hurdle. In Leipzig, the tried and tested ones are calm before the next clash against Liverpool.

“Liverpool feels like the strongest of the previous clubs, but we don’t worry about what happens if we still have zero points after the game,” the Bild newspaper quoted Rouven Schröder as saying. The sports director also knows that thanks to the reform, even such a false start could still be corrected, even if the margin of error would shrink significantly.

How does the Leipzig calculation work for the intermediate round?

How many points it will take to reach the intermediate round before the round of 16 remains to be seen. Football theorists have determined that ten points will most likely be enough to place them among the top 24 teams in the league phase. After Liverpool, Leipzig will face Celtic (away), Inter Milan (away), Aston Villa (home), Sporting (home) and Sturm Graz (away). Three wins and a draw would be a tough but not impossible task.

The calculation becomes easier with every success in the home game against Liverpool, which the Saxons are confident of achieving based on their strong form in the Bundesliga. “We are playing at home and have shown in the first two games that we are at least on par with our opponents.” “We just have to finally reward ourselves in the Champions League,” said goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi.