The Two RB Extremes: What Is a Home Win Really Worth?

One thing remains clear: RB Leipzig is a force to be reckoned with in its own stadium—at least in terms of results. The 4-0 win over SV Elversberg was the team’s fourth Bundesliga home victory this season, with an impressive goal tally of 18-0. With this, the Saxons are even sniffing around the Champions League spots again. So far, so good. But what are these decisive home wins really worth? How good is the team—which saw eight position changes from the match against Real Madrid—against Elversberg?

No one can answer these questions right now. Not sporting director Marcel Schäfer, not head coach Martín Demichelis, and not a single player. The team has two faces: great at home, terrible on the road. The clear home victories repeatedly mask the sometimes lackluster away performances and the resulting defeats. Consistency is a foreign concept. So far, the team hasn’t even earned a single point on the road, apart from the cup victory in the first round against the Regionalliga team in Trier.

Schäfer Calls for a Quick Turnaround

According to Schäfer, a solution must be found as soon as possible. “If you look at the home and away standings, we’re currently swinging between two extremes. We don’t want that. That’s not our standard, and it can’t stay that way, because we won’t achieve our goals this way,” said the sporting director ahead of the two away games on Tuesday (6:00 p.m.) in the cup against third-division side Rot-Weiss Essen and on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against FC Schalke 04.

Romulo sees mental issues

“At home, we just know that it’s our field, our fans are behind us—we feel the atmosphere. The fans are very important to us; they give us a crucial boost,” said Tidiam Gomis, who broke the deadlock against Elversberg with his goal after an extremely weak first half.

Romulo, who scored twice, pointed to mental factors. “I think we need to stay calmer and more composed on the road. We’re under a bit of pressure right now because we haven’t won a single away game. We need to stay just as patient on the road as we do at home,” Romulo said.

Demichelis is convinced that things are moving in the right direction. “Today was our first test against a tough opponent; we have to fly there with self-confidence and trust. It’s a mental game,” said the Argentine. Whether they’ll actually succeed in creating a “home-field atmosphere”—as Gomis suggests—in the two stadiums known for their passionate fans remains to be seen. But the fact remains: Wins are now needed on the road; otherwise, the ambitious club will fall short of its self-imposed goals early on.