When RB Leipzig sacked Jesse Marsh last December, it was inconceivable that the struggling German club would reach the end of the season on the verge of reaching two finals.
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Over the past four months, Marsh’s replacement Domenico Tedesco has turned RB Leipzig, who are confident of defeating Rangers in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final, the first leg at home.
Since he took over, Leipzig have shot down the Bundesliga from last December 11 to fourth, punched their ticket to next month’s German Cup final and reached the Europa League’s last four.
Saturday’s 2-1 home Bundesliga loss to Union Berlin, when they scored two late goals, was Leipzig’s first defeat since February and ended a 15-game unbeaten run.
“No one would have thought we would reach the (German) Cup final when I think of last December,” club boss Oliver Mintzlaf admitted.
The turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous under Tedesco, who coached Schalke to second place in Germany’s top flight in 2017-18.
Since the 36-year-old German-Italian took over, Leipzig have amassed 32 points in the second half of the season – exactly the same as Bayern Munich, who were confirmed on Saturday as Bundesliga champions for a 10th straight year.
RB did badly under Marsh, who won Austrian league and cup titles at sister club Red Bull Salzburg but lasted just five months after poor starts both at home and in Europe.
“In the first half of the season, many players were unhappy,” midfielder Marcel Halstenberg told local newspaper MZ.
“We have the quality, we just need the right planning.”
After speaking to the players, Tedesco again insisted on dominating possession, as Leipzig had under Marsh’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann.
Tedesco left the back four for a compact three- or five-man defense backed by wing-back Angelinho and Nordi Mukile.
French winger Christopher Nkunku has managed from Tedesco’s point of view into the space created for Leipzig’s forward.
The Paris Saint-Germain youth product has been a revelation this season with 30 goals and 20 assists in 46 games. They also struck twice in the quarterfinals at Atalanta and won 3–1 on aggregate.
Hungarian international Dominic Szoboszlai is a constant threat to the defense when he is cut from outside wide while Spanish attacking midfielder Dani Olmo can settle the game on his own.
Yusuf Poulsen and Emil Forsberg, who led to the winning goal in last Wednesday’s German Cup semi-finals, have the experience to get the game off the bench.
A recent unbeaten run means confidence remains high despite Saturday’s home defeat.
If Leipzig reach the Europa final in Seville on 18 May, they will have a chance to win two trophies in four days, with the German Cup final on 21 May at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
“We have such a quality in the team that we think it’s possible to win both,” Forsberg insisted.
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