Difficult to break down: The season of the RBL defence

RB Leipzig's defence was once again in a class of its own last season. The Red Bulls conceded 39 goals in the Bundesliga, only champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen (24) achieved a lower number.

Although one of our most important defenders from the previous season had left the club - Josko Gvardiol moved to Manchester City - the RBL defence even undercut the 41 goals conceded from the 2022/23 season.

Our defenders also impressed when going forward. Those who were used regularly also scored at least one goal in competitive matches. And our full-backs provided a whole series of assists. David Raum in particular stood out in his second year in the trade fair city. 

For most of the season we played with a back four. In some games, however, our coach decided to change the system and sent a back three into the game. What was particularly impressive was that although the Leipzig squad was comparatively small, our coach had a lot of choice, especially in defence, because the level was also very high across the board.

As usual, Willi Orban was a rock at the back and defended confidently and calmly in central defence. Mentality, passion, strength in duels - all of this has always distinguished our captain. In the 2023/24 season, he also had to prove his comeback qualities.

A torn lateral ligament in his knee meant that Willi was unavailable from mid-September to the end of January. His return was a decisive factor in RBL's success in the second half of the season. Since he returned to the starting line-up on February 4th for the home game against 1. FC Union Berlin (2-0), Leipzig has only lost one Bundesliga game (1-2 at Bayern).

Willi was also extremely important in the two Champions League duels with Real Madrid. In the second leg of the round of 16, he scored his only goal of the season with a header, making it an extremely close match. After a 0-1 defeat in the first leg and a 1-1 draw in Madrid, RBL only narrowly lost to the Royals.

After a mixed maiden season in the RBL jersey, the 2023/24 campaign brought the best out of David Raum. Of all the defenders, the 26-year-old played the most minutes last season (3,555 in all competitions). For our coach Marco Rose, the left-back was absolutely indispensable. 

And after having assisted on just two goals last year, he finally showed the goal threat that characterises him. David scored three goals himself (two in the Bundesliga, one in the Champions League) and provided a total of 13 assists including the one for Orban's goal against Real Madrid.

From set pieces and from open play, David once again shone with dangerous crosses, which had already distinguished him at his previous stints in Fürth and Hoffenheim. He also became an important factor in the national team again and was rewarded with a place in the Germany squad for the upcoming European Championship.

At right-back, Benjamin Henrichs was the perfect counterpart to Raum on the left in 2023/24. It's no wonder that similar things can be written about him. Benni also received a lot of playing time - with 3,289 minutes, the second most of all RBL defenders - and he also posed an attacking threat.

Our right-back scored a goal in the 5-1 home win against Stuttgart and provided a total of eight assists, including one for Dani Olmo in the 3-0 Supercup win against Bayern and two in the Champions League. 

Once again, Benni proved himself to be a very versatile player, and in the final phase of the season he played several times on the left side of defence. His strong performances and flexibility must have impressed national coach Julian Nagelsmann. Henrichs is also going to the European Championships with Germany.

Castello Jr. had the far from easy task of taking over Gvardiol's place in the squad. Even though nobody expected the 21-year-old to perform as well as the Croatian had done, the young Frenchman's debut season was impressive!

Due to Willi Orban's injury in particular, Castello had to take on responsibility early on and was a regular in central defence from Matchday 4. On Matchday 6, he scored his only goal of the season in a 2-2 draw against Bayern. Castello only missed 10 minutes of the group stage of the Champions League, playing the full 90 minutes in the two difficult games against Manchester City, among others, and gaining important European experience.

After Castello had alternated between the starting XI and the bench more often in the middle of the season, he closed out the season as a regular. The central defender is not only hard to beat in one-on-one duels, but also has a very precise passing game. With a pass completion of 92.7 per cent, he is one of the best ball players in the Bundesliga.

Mohamed Simakan has been one of the reliable players in the RBL defence for three years now. The 24-year-old is impressive both as a centre-back and right-back. And with three goals of his own, he is statistically the most dangerous Leipzig defender of the past season. His goal on matchday 15 in the 3-1 win against TSG Hoffenheim was the 500th Bundesliga goal in our club's history.

Mo has always been characterised by a strong offensive drive; in addition to his three goals, he also set up four more for his teammates (all four in the Bundesliga). In the final phase of the season, he provided an assist in both the 2-1 win in Heidenheim and the 1-1 draw against Bremen.

While Mo started most of the games in the first half of the season, he often had to make do with a place on the bench in the second half. But that doesn't change how important the Frenchman has become for Leipzig.

We were able to count on one of our longest-serving players again in the 2023/24 season: Lukas Klostermann. The 27-year-old, who has been wearing the RBL jersey since 2014, started the season as a substitute, but for him too, the loss of Willi Orban meant that his experience would be even more important. 

Lukas secured a regular place in the team and wore the captain's armband several times, including in the exhilarating 3-2 win in Dortmund at the beginning of December. A week later, our centre-back scored his only goal of the season against Hoffenheim. In January, Klosti decided to remain loyal to RBL and extended his contract until 2028.

The fast and extremely reliable defender might have kept his place in the starting line-up until the end of the season if a thigh injury had not kept him out of action for the entire month of March.

Last summer, Leipzig signed Christopher Lenz from Eintracht Frankfurt as back-up for the left side. He was not given much playing time, mainly due to Raum's outstanding performances. Christopher played in nine matches, getting the full 90 minutes twice in the DFB Cup (3-2 against Wiesbaden) and in the Champions League (2-1 against Young Boys).

El Chadaille Bitshiabu in particular had to show patience this season. The 19-year-old had to recover from a torn medial ligament after moving from Paris Saint-Germain to Cottaweg. He made six brief appearances in the Bundesliga. It is clear that the youngster has a lot of potential. He will get even more playing time in the future. 

On Matchday 34, Norwegian Jonathan Norbye also made his debut . At 17 years and 53 days, he was the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season and the second youngest RBL player in history after Sidney Raebiger.