RB Leipzig Learns Valuable Lessons In 1-0 Defeat To Liverpool

Liverpool players celebrate their goal against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League. (Photo by ... [+] Hesham Elsherif/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Anadolu via Getty Images

Liverpool has beaten RB Leipzig 1-0 in front of 45,228 spectators at the RB Arena. The scorer of the only goal was Liverpool’s Uruguayan forward Darwin (27’). For Leipzig, it was the third defeat in a row in this year’s Champions League campaign.

And for the third time, it felt unnecessary. “Being efficient is a big topic,” RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose said after the game. “When we have chances, we have to capitalize on them. That’s something we have to learn.”

Going forward, there were too many moments in which RB Leipzig’s young forwards Loïs Openda, Benjamin Sesko and brilliant playmaker Xavi Simons made things too complicated. Rather than playing a simple pass or taking on defenders one-v-one, Leipzig’s talented but still inexperienced attack made things a bit too complicated.

RB Leipzig fall to Liverpool - “We should have defended better”

While the team struggled to make the most of its attacking spell, Leipzig was also punished in defense for a rather innocent mistake. Castello Lukeba ducked under a cross ahead of the Darwin goal, allowing Mohamed Salah to set up Liverpool’s lead.

“Without a doubt, we should have defended that better,” Rose said. “Castello dove under the ball. He also looked out of position. One mistake like that is enough.”

Those mistakes somewhat encapsulated Leipzig’s struggles this season in the Champions League. Whether on the road against Atlético Madrid (2-1) or at home against Juventus (2-3), Leipzig went toe-to-toe with their opponents but ultimately dropped all three points.

Openda reacts in frustration after seeing a call called back because of offside (Photo by Hendrik ... [+] Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Looking back, there could now be a world in which Leipzig has all nine points rather than zero points in this Champions League campaign. For the club, this is all part of the learning process. But Rose is also realistic enough to know that Leipzig will need points sooner rather than later in this competition.

“Of course, zero points is less than ideal,” Rose said. “But we have to keep going full steam ahead.”

Ultimately, Rose has the right to be optimistic. At no point throughout the 90 minutes did Leipzig look out of place in the clash against the Premier League leaders.

RB Leipzig is not far from Europe’s elite

Quite the opposite. There were several spells in which Leipzig dominated, rotated the ball well through its own ranks, and created moments that looked dangerous in its origin.

What then went wrong? The xG of 0.76 to 2.38 in Liverpool’s favor tells much of the story. Leipzig scored twice, but both times, Openda was offside. Then there were several moments in which Leipzig was one pass away from scoring but couldn’t direct a shot on goal to generate meaningful xG.

So what, then, is the lesson from this game for this upstart Leipzig side? Perhaps on balance, this club, who will receive a shot in the arm in the form of Jürgen Klopp in January, is close to Europe’s elite. But to get there fully, Rose’s players have to be more decisive and mature in their actions.