RB Leipzig reach Champions League last 16 in style

Marco Rose has been in charge of RB Leipzig for 13 games, brought in to arrest their early season slide. After losing two of his first three games, Leipzig have embarked on a ten-game unbeaten run with Rose having quickly established a team that is balanced, stable and attacking.

Christopher Nkunku, Andre Silva and Dominik Szoboszlai all scored in this classy 4-0 victory, with Timo Werner contributing to the first goal before he withdrew soon after through injury. But in every one of Leipzig's last ten games, at least one of these four have scored or assisted.

The form of this quartet has been integral to Leipzig's uptick under Rose, who seems to have cracked the code to unlock his attacking options. The mix of speed and directness that Leipzig have in attack has the potential to overwhelm teams, with Rose having liberated his attacking unit in a way that his predecessor Domenico Tedesco sometimes struggled to.

Progressive philosophy

Whereas Tedesco is a coach that values pragmatism over panache, Rose is very much of the Red Bull school of thought: attack is the best form of defense. It's starting to look as though the talented crop of players at his disposal – which extends to the first-choice midfield axis of Amadou Haidara and Konrad Laimer – respond better to the progressive philosophy that Rose champions.

"Of course, we spoke about the fact that, at RB, we stand for a certain type of football," Rose said when he was appointed as Leipzig coach. "We know that we have huge quality in pressing and transition. The lads have that in the tank, they know how it works, they've all done it before, they come from clubs where they've played like that."

Rose is now also working with a sporting director he knows well from his time at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Max Eberl was brought in just two weeks after Rose and the two have an understanding that holds promise.

It's easy to forget that Leipzig lost their first two games in this group. Staring at an early exit, they found four straight wins, including over a depleted Real Madrid last week. And with three Bundesliga games to go before the World Cup break, Leipzig should be in good shape when things resume in 2023.

Rose and RB Leipzig has always had a sense of destiny to it. Rose was born in the city, played for and coached Lokomotiv Leipzig, and has been a favorite of the Red Bull project since he was identified as the man to take the reins at sister club Salzburg — and even Rose will be surprised at just how well things are going.

"Leipzig is my home, I identify with it," Rose told DW recently. "But when you're a coach in your hometown, you have a particular responsibility, which isn't always easy. But I've made that choice knowingly, because I feel at home here, I like the people here, and I've taken over a great team."