Bundesliga
Nagelsmann: "We're a young team, we'll continue to improve"
RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann says his young team will continue to improve following the 1-1 with defending champions Bayern Munich on Matchday 4 which keeps Leipzig top of the Bundesliga table.
Leipzig came into the blockbuster fixture on Saturday evening as league leaders, and the only team to have recorded three wins from three to start the season. While not suffering defeat, Bayern had dropped points on the opening weekend in a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin.
Robert Lewandowski stunned the Red Bull Arena crowd inside three minutes after he latched onto Thomas Müller’s through ball to open the scoring. Leipzig crucially levelled the game before the break, though, when Emil Forsberg converted from the spot after Yussuf Poulsen had been fouled by Lucas Hernandez.
Bayern were the far better side in the first half, but an improved Leipzig came out in the second half – to the delight of Nagelsmann. His side showed that they are able to mix with the biggest boys in the Bundesliga with the 1-1 result, cementing their place at the top of the table.
"We're a young team, there will still be waves in our performances but we'll improve every day," Nagelsmann told bundesliga.com after the game. "The guys are hungry and we will improve.
"We're not the only club that wants to attack Bayern," Nagelsmann continued. "A title is a wish, and that's the wish of everyone in the club. Which title that is is something I don't want to commit myself to, they're all relatively difficult to get."
It's been Leipzig’s best ever start to any season in the club's history, let alone the Bundesliga. Never before had they picked up three wins from the opening four matches of a season. Die Roten Bullen's mean defence has also remained so in 2019/20, conceding only three league goals so far – the joint-best defensive record alongside Borussia Dortmund, Freiburg and Wolfsburg.
Leipzig have now also embarked on their second group stage campaign in the UEFA Champions League, and the first at the club for Nagelsmann. The 32-year-old tactician oversaw Hoffenheim's maiden run in the competition two seasons ago, finishing three points behind Shakhtar Donetsk in fourth place in a group also containing English Premier League winners Manchester City and French side Lyon.
This time around, Leipzig have been drawn alongside Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg, Lyon and Portuguese champions Benfica - who they beat 2-1 in Group G on Tuesday.
Regardless of the result, Nagelsmann is delighted that the competition provides another chance for his youthful squad to get better.
"Now it's Champions League – we're happy to be playing in the Champions League," Nagelsmann said. "Minutes in the Champions League are also ones when we can improve, and we'll be more stable in the future."
Top of the Bundesliga table and top of their Champions League group? Ominous for the rest of more is still to come from Leipzig.