Haaland's Stellar Performance as a Warning: Is Leipzig's Home Form Enough?

For Leipzig’s defensive leader Willi Orban, this spectacular evening featuring Erling Haaland remains unforgettable. In the snow and cold, Manchester City’s superstar striker scored five times against an overwhelmed RB team. Only Pep Guardiola prevented a potential Champions League record by substituting the Norwegian after an hour. The 0–7 loss on March 14, 2023, at the Etihad Stadium was RB Leipzig’s heaviest defeat in the Champions League. “He was always right where the ball landed. That kid is really something special,” Orban said of the clinical Haaland.

This time, the “Cityzens” are traveling to Leipzig with a fire in their bellies for Wednesday’s group stage match (9:00 p.m./DAZN). Following a 0–1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion and a 1–2 defeat at Aston Villa earlier, Man City—which faces a drastic penalty for violating financial regulations—has lost its lead in the English league standings. The team had started the Premier League season with seven wins.

RB needs to pick up points

In the group stage of the Champions League, aside from the two expected wins against AEK Athens (5–1) and at FC Porto (2–0), City suffered a 2–4 setback against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain. Leipzig is under even more pressure following defeats in Como and at Real Madrid. “We’re playing at home and want to do everything we can to win,” said forward Rômulo. 

The question is: What does Leipzig’s Bundesliga home streak—with a goal differential of 18–0—mean on the international stage? The flattering 1–0 win over PSV Eindhoven didn’t provide any definitive answers as to whether RB can hold its own at home against Europe’s top teams.

Reunion with former club for Demichelis

Coach Martín Demichelis, however, believes the team is on the right track, at least since its first road win of the season—a 2-0 victory at Schalke. For the Argentine, the match against City will mark his next reunion with a former club. At the age of 33, Demichelis had once transferred to City, where he won the Premier League and the League Cup twice. “They’re two different teams with different philosophies,” said the 45-year-old about the matchup between Leipzig and City.

Bad omen: The former Bayern defender’s last reunion with a former employer ended in a 1–6 thrashing in Munich. 

Youth coach: Nusa is the better talent than Haaland

However, Leipzig quickly shook off that setback and, sitting fourth in the league, are now just three points behind the leading duo from Munich and Dortmund. RB’s upward trend is due not only to the return of Christoph Baumgartner but also to the ever-improving Antonio Nusa, who has already been involved in ten goals this season.

The Norwegian now faces his buddy Haaland. Youth coach Gaute Larsen coached Nusa at Stabæk Fotball and Haaland at Bryne FK. “I’ve been a professional coach for 35 years, and he was one of the most technically skilled and talented players I’ve ever seen,” Larsen says of Nusa, emphasizing: “To me, Antonio was the greater talent.”

Although Haaland had always had the better goal-scoring instinct, as a youth player he was still finding his way. “Erling was very tall and skinny and moved a bit like Bambi on the ice,” Larsen says with a smile. He still follows both of their careers. He raves about Nusa: “I think we’re just starting to see the best of Antonio. If he continues to gain confidence, he’ll get even better.”