Hungry for more! Our start to the season in numbers
Victory in the Supercup | Putting an end to Union’s home run | RBL playing entertaining football
It’s the first international break of the 2023/24 season, which means it’s time for a breather after an eventful summer.
There was a lot of change – there were ten new arrivals during the transfer window and 22 players left RBL, some on loan deals.
Questions marks over changes to the squad
Before the first competitive game of the season against FC Bayern, there were a lot of questions surrounding the standard of the squad. “We’re not exactly sure how we stand ahead of the Supercup,” explained head coach Marco Rose.
This uncertainty was replaced by excitement over the course of 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena.
The fans were hungry for more! The newly formed squad put in an excellent performance and secured their first trophy of the season with the convincing 3-0 win over Bayern. Hat-trick hero Dani Olmo was the man of the moment in the victory.
After the game, we saw an elated Marco Rose, who hoped that the victory over the Bavarians would be “a boost” for his team, as his attention turned to the tricky game in Leverkusen despite the convincing performance.
“They’ve improved a lot, it’ll be a big challenge,” emphasised the Leipzig-born coach before the start of the Bundesliga season.
As expected, it was a tough game. The final score displayed on the big screens at the BayArena was 3-2 in favour of the hosts. Even though the boys didn’t play to the best of their ability on that boiling hot Saturday, with a little more luck, they would’ve scored some more goals – something that everyone agreed on in the post-game analysis.
The lessons from Leverkusen
We took a couple of positives from the game against Leverkusen:
- RBL looked dangerous from set pieces, with both goals being headers from Olmo and Openda.
- Leipzig showed that they’re capable of a comeback, as they weren’t rattled by falling behind twice and only just missed out on coming away from the clash with a point.
These qualities were also needed in the next game.
After trailing 1-0 at the break, Benny Henrichs got the equaliser through his aggressive pressing. Following this, Henrichs & Co. put their foot on the gas and scored four more goals to secure their first league win of the season (5-1).
All good things come to an end
The team travelled to the capital with the wind in their sails, as matchday 3 meant a tough away day at Union Berlin. The team from Köpenick were unbeaten in 24 games at home before the clash with RB Leipzig, with no away side coming away from the Alte Försterei with more than a point since 13th February 2022.
Marco Rose’s side arrived and managed to win 3-0 away from home thanks to a mature performance and fabulous goals. Our head coach praised the boys for their tireless display.
For the moment, the ball has rolled to a stop in the Bundesliga, as the players travel to link up with their international sides. The boys return on 16th September with a home game against FC Augsburg.
Four games, three wins, 13 goals – a start that has us hungry for more.
Facts and figures
The goals in numbers
- Goals: 13
- Set-piece goals: 3
- Headers: 4
- Top scorer: Dani Olmo (4)
- Most goal contributions: Xavi (5)
Team facts
- Save percentage: Janis Blaswich (63.6%)
- Challenges won: 280
- Passing accuracy: 87,8%
- Average possession: 57%
