History indicated that Leipzig only had a 22% chance of reaching the round of 16 after picking up three points from their first three games, including the two consecutive defeats with which they opened the group stage.
However, the matchday 3 triumph against Celtic turned out to be a decisive result, as goals, points and victories flowed freely from that duel.
His season so far
Second place in Group F: 4V 0E 2D 13GF 9GC
Top scorer: Christopher Nkunku (3)
06/09: Leipzig – Shakhtar 1-4 (Simikan 57′; Shved 16′ 58′, Mudryk 76′, Traoré 85′)
14/09: Real Madrid – Leipzig 2-0 (Valverde 80′, Asensio 90’+1)
05/10: Leipzig 3-1 Celtic (Nkunku 27′, André Silva 64′ 77′; Jota 47′)
11/10: Celtic – Leipzig 0-2 (Werner 74′, Forsberg 84′)
25/10: Leipzig – Real Madrid 3-2 (Gvardiol 13′, Nkunku 18′, Werner 81′; Vinícius Júnior 44′, Rodrygo 90’+3 pen)
02/11: Shakhar – Leipzig 0-4 (Nkunku 10′, André Silva 50′, Szoboszlai 62′, Bondar in own goal 68′)
Your season in a nutshell: Leipzig got four wins in a row when it was between a rock and a hard place.
UEFA.com Leipzig reporter
Leipzig did not play badly under Domenico Tedesco, Marco Rose’s predecessor, but they were unlucky at times and failure to advance from the group stage became a habit. All this seems to have changed now, and while Rose’s first game in charge against Real Madrid seemed to have the same dynamic as his previous ones (good game, bad result), this changed dramatically in the weeks that followed. The good performances allowed them to achieve four consecutive victories (the best run in their history in the Champions League) and access to the next round.
How does Leipzig play?
The biggest change Rose made was going from a three-man defense to a four-man one, using a 4-2-2-1-1 scheme. Width is achieved by moving up to the full-backs and making them play more open, and Mohamed Simakan, usually acting as a central defender, has excelled at right-back. Rose has moved Nkunku to second striker behind André Silva, and those two attackers seem to get on well, with Timo Werner and Dominik Szoboszlai dipping in to provide numerical superiority in the middle space.
Fantasy Stars
Mohamed Listen – 46 points
Christopher Nkunku – 35 points
andre silva – 35 points
Template Changes
Clubs could register a maximum of three new eligible players before the knockout phase. Since the 2018/19 season, it is no longer taken into account if those footballers have already played in the competition for another club, even for another team that is still in the competition.
key facts
- Leipzig has never been involved in a goalless draw in the Champions League, already adding 36 games in the top continental competition.
- The German team have achieved victory in their last four Champions League games, this being the first time they have won four consecutive games in the competition in their entire history.
- Leipzig have scored two or more goals in eight of their last ten Champions League games.
