End of the Roller-Coaster Ride? Nkunku's Performance and Schmidt's Commitment

Things didn't quite go as planned for Roger Schmidt at the Sportstudio's famous goal-shooting wall. Red Bull’s new soccer boss failed to score a single goal in six attempts. RB Leipzig, the team he oversees, had performed significantly better just a few hours earlier, sending Eintracht Frankfurt into a crisis with a resounding 6-0 victory.

With that win, Leipzig not only gained a lot of confidence heading into Tuesday’s Champions League match against Eindhoven but also put the speculation surrounding coach Martin Demichelis on hold for now. Given only two wins in four Bundesliga games, rumors of a possible return by Julian Nagelsmann had previously been circulating.

Argentine Mentality

Schmidt has now downplayed these rumors. “We’re a long way from that. We want a certain degree of continuity in the coaching position at all our locations,” the 59-year-old said on ZDF. Schmidt had met Demichelis in person for the first time just last Thursday—and the chemistry was apparently immediate.

Jürgen Klopp’s successor raved about the Argentine mentality, which he said Leipzig’s coach—who was hired in July—also possesses. This brings “that certain something you need to win games.” Schmidt wants to see that again on Tuesday following the Frankfurt gala: “We need a win in the Champions League because we lost the first game there.”

If the team performs similarly to how they did against the disastrous Eintracht, there’s no need to worry. Leipzig put on by far its best performance of the season. Demichelis obviously managed to make the right adjustments during the international break. “RBL soccer means playing attractive and bold soccer. We largely succeeded in doing that today,” praised sporting director Marcel Schäfer.

Nkunku as a “huge asset”

Christopher Nkunku was, of course, outstanding, scoring the first hat trick in Leipzig’s Bundesliga history in the first half. “We worked together, both offensively and defensively. I worked on my physical conditioning during the international break and felt really fit today,” said the Frenchman.

Since the 28-year-old saw relatively little playing time at his former clubs Chelsea and Milan, he currently plays no role on the national team. That’s good news for Leipzig, as it allowed the former Bundesliga top scorer to stay at Cottaweg and focus fully on getting back into form. Coach Demichelis wasn’t the only one to highlight the attacking player’s strong performance. “When he gets going, he’s a massive asset for us,” said captain David Raum.

No fear of Bayern and Real

He also immediately touched on a sore spot that hasn’t quite healed yet. “Our season has been a roller coaster ride so far. We now have to make sure our performances aren’t so inconsistent,” said the national team player. For that reason alone, a win against Eindhoven would be of enormous importance. Especially since matches against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid follow afterward. And on the road—unlike in home games—RB under Demichelis has yet to pick up any points, with the exception of the cup match against fourth-division side Trier.

But the new head coach is by no means worried. “The potential is there to play well against Bayern and Real. You can be that confident,” Schmidt said. Now it’s up to Demichelis and the rest of the team to keep delivering—or at least to be more accurate than Schmidt was on the goal-shooting wall.