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For the first time on this site, Germany is the destination of choice, where newly-promoted Red Bull Leipzig are surprising people across the world with their high-energy performances thus far. Currently second in the Bundesliga only due to goal difference, Leipzig matched Bayern Munich on points with a routine victory against midtable Mainz. This analysis will be exclusively focused on Leipzig in the interest of my personal development and understanding.

Red Bull Leipzig are currently ran by sporting director Ralf Rangnick, an iconic figure in the coaching world due to his ideas on pressing and the array of coaches that have been influenced by him, such as Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann. While Rangnick has a more visionary role at the club, day to day management is done by Ralph Hasenhuttl, who moved from Ingolstadt this past summer.

Lockdown Leipzig

What has made the newcomers incredibly successful over the past couple of months is their defensive scheme and structure. Hasenhuttl’s team is aligned in a 4-2-2-2 off the ball, with the attacking midfielders positioned in the halfspaces. Leipzig throughout the season and against Mainz have demonstrated an incredible pressing intensity alongside wonderful synchronization in their movements, with their much of their team defensive work focused on disrupting the opposition buildup.

Leipzig spent a large portion of the match arranged in a medium block, where Poulsen and Werner were positioned just ahead of the top of the center circle. Forsberg and Sabitzer were dropped in slightly behind them, while Keita and Demme provided central security to prevent any passes from penetrating the center. While the home side applied a lot of pressure onto the opposition, very little of it was applied to the opposition center backs.

Instead, Leipzig gave Mainz’s center back pairing time on the ball, eliminating forward passing options with their individual and team positioning. This meant the only safe option they oftentimes could play was wide to their fullbacks. When this occurred, the attacking midfielder on that side would move forward apply immediate pressure onto the full back, creating a line of three while the rest of the team shifted to outnumber Mainz near the ball. Ahead of the ball, Leipzig covered the passing options through man-oriented marking.

This led to Mainz’s back line playing forced balls ahead which had little chance of finding a teammate. If it was an aerial ball, Leipzig typically won it with ease, while any passes on the ground that weren’t intercepted oftentimes had pressure quickly applied due to the compactness of Leipzig.

Leipzig’s compact shape allows them to exhibit a large amount of control over the space they occupy, as the distances they have to travel to apply pressure are smaller than if they were more spread out. On the touchlines for throw-ins, they commit many players over to the wing to tighten up the space horizontally and increase their odds of winning the ball out wide. The central defenders also step up and play a rather high line to accompany the tight structure of the midfield and forwards, making it so there is a limited amount of space vertically that their opponents can play in.

This paired with their energetic, athletic team of young players and they can travel in those spaces faster than their opponents. When the opponent switches the play, Leipzig can adjust quickly and shift fast so that any gaps in coverage cannot be easily exploited. This combination yields a very high-intensity side that is extremely difficult to break down by the opponent when they are arranged in their shape, explaining their defensive success at this point in the season.

Direct in Transition

Just like Hasenhuttl’s previous side Ingolstadt, RBL are potent on the counter attack and it is a key component of the team’s attacking strategy. This hardly comes as a surprise given the emphasis that Sporting Director Rangnick has placed on transitions in recent years:

“Football has become a completely different sport over the last ten years. The change has been brutal. The two basic elements – having the ball, not having the ball – are the same but the transitions between these two states are nothing like they used to be. The highest probability of scoring a goal is within ten seconds of taking possession. The highest probability of winning the ball back is within eight seconds of losing possession. Think about these two numbers and what they mean. Everything else just follows.” – Ralf Rangnick (2014)

All of Leipzig’s goals on the day came from quick incisive attacks just after regaining possession. Throughout the season they’ve done well on the counter, but the match against Mainz was a quintessential Red Bull performance in transition.

One reason that their counterattack is dangerous is a byproduct of their defensive compactness. In a compact defense, once you win the ball, you have more passing options within proximity of the ball. This allows for rapid combinations to progress forwards. If the right lanes open up, numerical superiorities can be created quickly in the final third. This is what happened with Leipzig’s first goal in the 3rd minute, as a series of up back and through combinations sliced through Mainz’s defense after Red Bull won the ball off of a throw-in.

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The finisher of that goal, Timo Werner, alongside a couple other players in the team is another reason behind Leipzig’s transition prowess. Werner is equipped with a great deal of pace and mobility which is beneficial for running past and in behind defenders, making him a key asset to their counterattacks. His movements wide during the attacks draw defenders outward and create space centrally for attacking midfielders to run into for finishing off low crosses. When paired with Yussuf Poulsen, a more physical striker, the two create a nice balance to play direct football with. One offers the ability to win balls in the air and provide hold-up play, while the other provides a dangerous threat in behind the defense and with the ball.

Upon winning the ball, the first instruction in the team is to find one of the forwards. Given that these passes are often long, it isn’t exactly one that has a high percentage of success. In fact, Leipzig in general play a direct brand of football that isn’t prided on maintaining long periods of possession. In the first half, they had a passing completion rate of only 68%. However, when they broke forward, it often led to a shot, as they managed 15 on the day with a total xG of 2.67 according to 11tegen11.

At times however, Leipzig’s swashbuckling desire to attack after recovering possession led to an overly expansive brand of football. During periods of the match, Mainz marauded through RBL when their counter attacks failed, leaving only five players back to defend in these instances. Teams looking to beat Leipzig should hope to trap them into one of these scenarios and hit back against them with a counter attack of their own, making the game an open affair. It is when the game is tight and structured that Leipzig thrive; however, in the moments after their attacks end, that is where they are most vulnerable at this point.

Commentary & Conclusion

The youthful side in the Bundesliga have yet again come away with the three points at the end of the weekend, and haven’t lost a single match yet. With a run like this from an unexpected side, naturally people have concerns about whether this side can maintain this run of form throughout the duration of the season. The first area that will likely be pointed out as a source of an inevitable drop-off is their intensity, specifically, their incapability to maintain this sort of intensity up until May.

I for one find that claim to be humorous. Not only do Leipzig not have to compete in European competition which would add additional games to this group, but they are likely equipped with an excellent sports science staff given their large financial backing. I can speak with knowledge of this being true at two other clubs in the Red Bull family, so the likelihood that a quality sports science team isn’t the case at the most marketable of the Red Bull clubs is absurd. Sports science staffs are debatably the most important staff members following the manager and his coaches, as they help prevent injuries tremendously and allow the team to maintain high fitness levels if the department is competent. With a play style like Leipzig’s, staying healthy and fresh is a tremendous reason for long term success.

In addition, the Bundesliga winter break will provide the players with a nice break halfway through the season, allowing them to recuperate and recover from the first half of the season. The only way that I can envision Leipzig getting defeated when they are properly organized is if teams either figure out ways to play through their tight defensive structure or if they defend their counter attacks well and nick a goal off of a set piece. Leipzig’s high energy will continue to torment Bundesliga teams (and Jeb Bush) in the near future unless somebody can figure out the secret to their financially backed fairy tale thus far.