"We want to be brave and face the challenge head on"
RBL head coach Marco Rose and Yussuf Poulsen speak to the media ahead of our clash with Manchester City
A clash with the champions!
RB Leipzig welcome reigning Champions League winners Manchester City to the Red Bull Arena this Wednesday (21:00 CEST).
How does Marco Rose rate the English champions' current form? What does the game mean to him? And how is the squad shaping up? Our head coach answered all this and more in today's press conference. Yussuf Poulsen was also there to answer questions from the media.
Our final training session before #RBLMCI
Team news
- Benjamin Henrichs has picked up a minor hamstring strain and will miss the game against Manchester City as a result.
- Kevin Kampl and Yussuf Poulsen have recovered from knocks and are available for Wednesday's match.
- Timo Werner's back pains have subsided and he's returned to team training.
- Amadou Haidara returned to team training after recovering from his muscle injury and got back into the swing of things in last week's sessions.
- Willi Orban injured his knee when playing for Hungary against the Czech Republic and will be out for approximately 10 weeks.
- Dani Olmo acquired an injury to his right knee in the international fixture vs. Georgia, meaning he will have to sit out of training and rest for the next couple of RBL games.
- El Chadaille Bitshiabu (MCL tear) is still out of action.
- Timo Schlieck is currently doing rehabilitation work at the Athlete Performance Center in Thalgau. The goalkeeper injured his knee during training.
RBL vs City
Marco Rose on...
...how to win against Manchester City
- "The most important thing is that we believe in ourselves at home with the fans behind us and bring energy onto the pitch. We want to be brave and face the challenge head on. We'll give it a good go and use the opportunity to test ourselves against this opposition. We want to cause problems for City in certain areas of the pitch, score goals and keep things tight at the back. A lot of things need to go our way, but games like this are why we play football. It'll have to be a top performance.
We know how good City are and what to expect tomorrow, even though they've lost their last two games. We also know that we'll need a little bit of luck against a team of their calibre."
...the games last season
- "Those games are old news. We know that we played well at home, especially at the start of the game, but we were made to battle and come back from a goal down. It'll be the same tomorrow. It happens to every team that plays against City.
A lot went wrong in the away leg. It goes without saying that we weren't very happy with how things went at the end of the game. But it's a new season and we've made a good start to it."
...the "Cityzens" squad
- "Even with De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva injured, Kovacic and Foden can come into the team. They've signed Doku, who's an amazing dribbler. He brings something different to their game when Grealish doesn't play.
They've also picked up our Josko and we've all seen how good he is. They're a top team and we're looking forward to tomorrow as a result. We're not going to go down without a fight. At the end of the day, it's 11 vs 11."
Marco Rose on...
…seeing Josko Gvardiol again
- "We've spoken now and again. He's had no problems adjusting to life in Manchester, but that doesn't surprise me. He's a quality player and he's more than capable of learning from one of the best coaches in the world.
He's doing very well there and has even assisted some goals. He's always taking turns with Aké, but Josko's clearly got a specific role. I assume that he'll be back playing at his old stomping ground tomorrow, but we're looking forward to seeing him again."
…how to stop Erling Haaland
- "We don't have a specific way to stop him. It's hard enough to play against him at different stages of the game. He's quick, good in the air, deadly in the box, and a sharpshooter. We've got to be wary wherever he is on the pitch.
Our best centre-backs will have to be on the ball and watch out for him. That being said, I think we'll be able to cope. We've just got to work as a team."
Games like this are why we play football. It'll have to be a top performance
Yussuf Poulsen on...
...Wednesday's game
- "We've already mentioned how good their team is. But we've got a good team, too. There were moments against Bayern where we were playing a little deeper and had to chase the ball. It's not the way we play - it's just a part of playing in big games. You've just got to accept that there'll be moments where the other team are on the ball more. We've got to be ready for them tomorrow.
We've got to try and keep these phases of the game as short as possible. We also want to have periods on the ball where City are chasing us. We showed that we're more than capable of doing that against Bayern."
…facing off against Josko Gvardiol
- "I know him and he knows me, but that doesn't make playing against him any easier. Obviously, I know a bit about how his start to life in England's been, but he's part of a new team. They'll be taking different steps with his development and he'll be getting different tactical instructions from the coach.
As a result, we can't be sure that this Josko is the same Josko as four months ago. That being said, we're looking forward to seeing him because he's a top bloke."
…scoring goals in the Champions League
- "The teams you play against in the Champions League are the best in the world, which means they also have the best players. It makes scoring goals much harder."