The top of the Bundesliga table was a long way out of sight when Jesse Marsch left RB Leipzig in early December. Indeed, the club was slumped in 11th place having claimed just five wins from 14 games when a change in management was made. Under Domenico Tedesco, though, the same team has been a formidable force.
Too much ground was lost in the early stage of the season for RB Leipzig to challenge for the German title this term, with Bayern Munich well on course for a 10th straight championship, but Tedesco has certainly turned the club around. On their current trajectory, RB Leipzig should salvage a top four finish from a difficult campaign.
Under Tedesco, RB Leipzig have tightened things up at the back. While they conceded seven times in the three matches before Marsch’s firing, RB Leipzig have kept three clean sheets in their last seven Bundesliga outings. Tedesco’s team are still attack-minded, but not at the expense of solidity at the back.
Angelino and Nordi Mukiele are offering their side more as the wing backs in Tedesco’s 3-4-1-2 system. While Angelino in particular is an important attacking outlet, the pair recognise the importance of getting back quickly to help out on the defensive side of the ball. Simply by getting more bodies back more quickly, Tedesco has added steel to his defence.
In attack, RB Leipzig remain as potent as ever. Christopher Nkunku is enjoying a personal best season, scoring 26 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman is the quintessential modern forward in that he can run the channels, get in behind, take the ball into feet, drop deep and finish off chances inside the box. Nkunku is the superstar of Tedesco’s team.
Between Nkunku, Dani Olmo, Emil Forsberg, Andre Silva, Dominik Szoboszlai and Yussuf Poulsen, RB Leipzig have several high-quality options in the final third. Tedesco’s system generally allows for three of them to play at any given time with Forsberg recently favoured in the role behind the two furthest forward attackers.
It’s an approach designed to get as many players forward to support each other. Quick exchange play in the final third is common. RB Leipzig’s attackers are now finding space easier than was the case under Marsch who favoured a hard-running style over the possession-based game his successor has used to good effect.
While Tedesco’s career path took a diversion after a promising few years at Schalke, the 36-year-old is once again proving himself as one of the best young coaches in the German game. Tedesco was famously classmates with Julian Nagelsmann at the DFB coaching school and even achieved better grades than the now Bayern Munich boss.
Some years after both men graduated, they now find themselves at the helm of two German soccer superpowers. Nagelsmann will surely claim his first Bundesliga title as a coach this season with Bayern Munich in command at the top of the table, but Tedesco harbours ambitions of challenging for the championship with RB Leipzig.Â
To help matters, Bayern Munich might not be so untouchable after the summer. The Bavarians have still to truly replace David Alaba and Jerome Boateng, who both left as free agents last year, and now they will have to find a successor for Niklas Sule, who has already signed a pre-contract agreement to join Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.Â
Nagelsmann and the recruitment staff at the Allianz Arena are faced with a rebuild of their defensive ranks while simmering contract standoffs involving Serge Gnabry and Corentin Tolisso continue to cause concern. Bayern Munich stand on the brink of a generational transition. They have some big decisions ahead of them.
RB Leipzig could also do with some defensive reinforcement to strengthen their chances of challenging for the Bundesliga title next season – Dayot Upamecano has still to be truly replaced since leaving for Bayern Munich last summer – but Tedesco won’t be faced with the same level of squad turnover. Pre-season will afford him time to further communicate his ideas to the same group of players. Continuity will be key.
Since their controversial promotion to the German top flight nearly six years ago, RB Leipzig have established themselves as a top four force and a Champions League-level club, but they have yet to push Bayern Munich all the way. Tedesco is now putting in place the foundations that may one day support a title challenge.
