RB Leipzig have once again been caught out cold. After twice taking the lead and having the upper hand, the Saxons lost 3:2 at home to Italian record champions Juventus Turin and are 29th out of 36 teams after two preliminary round matches in the Champions League with no points. "In the end, everyone in the dressing room is very, very frustrated because we always expect more, because it's our ambition, no matter what the opponent is called," said RB sporting director Rouven Schröder after the second consecutive defeat in the Champions League.
Everything was going according to plan. Juve lost their captain early on with the injured Bremer, had to replace another regular player after twelve minutes due to injury and RB took the lead after 30 minutes thanks to Benjamin Sesko against the best defense in Italy. After Dusan Vlahovic equalized (50'), Sesko scored again with a brace from the penalty spot (65'). Vlahovic (65) equalized again.
Seiwald: "Were too naive"
Even the surprising Juve lead from Francisco Conceicao (83) could have been countered by Leipzig in the closing stages. "We didn't make the most of our chances. We had four or five chances in the last ten minutes, we had to take at least two of them and win the game," said Nicolas Seiwald. RB sporting director Schröder commented on the final phase: "I have the feeling that we could still play and create chances. And the goal somehow wasn't meant to be today."
