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Goal fun and math games: Leipzig "one centimeter" ahead

Goal fun and math games: Leipzig "one centimeter" ahead
RB coach Ole Werner (center) looks ahead to his team's match / Photo: Julius Frick/dpa
From: DieSachsen News
Goal party, comeback celebrations and a declaration of love: How RB put down an exclamation marker against Hoffenheim and moved up by a wafer-thin margin in the race for Europe.

Knowing basic arithmetic was an advantage when analyzing Leipzig's impressive goal spectacle against TSG Hoffenheim. Double goalscorer Christoph Baumgartner had fun topping the common soccer phrase of a six-point game, which he had "read about somewhere" before the match, with a touch of irony.

The Austrian told reporters immediately after Friday night's gala that the 5-0 win over their rivals in Kraichgau had even earned them seven points. Three for the win, another three because Hoffenheim came away empty-handed and an extra point, so to speak, because the five-point haul means they are now also ahead on goal difference.

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Baumgartner sees an exclamation mark

"Six-point game, now you can even write seven-point game, that's nice for you," Baumgartner continued, amused. And added with satisfaction: "5:0 is already an exclamation mark." The relief was of course due to the fact that scoring goals repeatedly caused Leipzig inexplicable difficulties. They had "shown the effectiveness that we have lacked to some extent in many games recently", said coach Ole Werner.

The RB coach was naturally looking ahead to the big Champions League issue. However, he did not want to get carried away. "It's a super tight race, we've emphasized that many times now and have been saying it for many weeks, actually for months, and I don't expect that to change anywhere in the final third of the season," said Werner.

Tight race for the top flight

VfB Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen are still very close to each other, probably only two places apart in the most important European Cup. They are now "one centimeter" ahead, said Werner, referring to the goal difference already mentioned by Baumgartner. Werner sees the performance of all the teams as "very close together".

Werner has his own plan to lead RB back into international business. "In the end, you will be in the places you want to be if you really concentrate on yourself, if you also manage to focus on development in this final third, where pressure is added, where things are decided," said the 37-year-old.

In addition to Baumgartner, who is now RB's top scorer this season with twelve goals, two other professionals promoted greater optimism with their goals and their personal stories.

Gruda would like to stay

Brajan Gruda showed his best game in an RB shirt so far. Two goals, an assist and then a confession that he would like to stay in Saxony after the end of his loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer.

"I came here because it's a great club. I enjoy playing soccer here, I'm up for it in training and the lads are great. It's a great team, a great club and it's just fun," said the U21 international. Werner naturally did not want to get ahead of the squad planning. But the mutual appreciation is obvious.

Gruda is a player who simply fits into the dressing room. And you can just see what a fine footballer he is, he understands the game and can play several positions," said Werner. So will he stay beyond the summer? "Only time will tell. But we're very, very happy that he's here."

Werner is very happy that he's back with Benjamin Henrichs. The right-back scored his first goal after a long injury break due to a torn Achilles tendon to provide the emotional finale and highlight against Hoffenheim.

"I think you could see what that meant from his cheers and also from the cheers of the team and the stadium. Everyone knows what a journey Benny has been on in recent months. Now he's back in the game," said Werner.

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