RB Leipzig entered a new era in the offseason. New manager Julian Nagelsmann took over at the Red Bull Arena after three seasons at Hoffenheim. At 32, Nagelsmann’s appointment as head coach of RB Leipzig was a major step up thanks to the finances and expectations at the club.
Nagelsmann’s early work not only led RB Leipzig to three wins in three matches topping the Bundesliga at the international break, but it encouraged Die Roten Bullen’s best player to sign a new contract.
Striker Timo Werner, who was linked with a transfer to Liverpool and Bayern Munich, signed a new contract at the end of August tying him to the club until 2023.
His contract had been due to expire next summer and was expected to leave on a free transfer. Despite conceding to a low release clause of £30 million, which could see Werner still leave in 2020, it gives RB Leipzig the chance to get something when they were more likely to get nothing for the striker.
Not only have RB Leipzig won all three of their fixtures this season, they have done it in stunning fashion. A 4-0 win over Union Berlin kicked off the season and was followed by a 2-1 victory at home to Eintracht Frankfurt that wasn’t as close as the scoreline indicates.
A mauling of Borussia Monchenglabach came third as Werner tallied a hat-trick away from home. Nagelsmann hasn’t shuffled the squad in inherited from Ralf Rangnick. Rather, he has taken the same players and expanded on the team’s tactics.
Playing a 4-4-2 formation against Borussia Monchengladbach, playmaker Emil Forsberg was deployed on the left wing. His freedom to move into central areas allowed further freedom for Werner to make forward runs.
It is similar to the tactics that saw Nagelsmann lead little old Hoffenheim to Champions League qualification. Now with far more firepower and the Red Bull energy drink conglomerate behind him, the sky is the limit for the 32-year-old coach.
RB Leipzig’s chief title opponents are of course Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Bayern appear to be in a holding stage in which older players are being phased out or have come to the ends of their careers.
Bayern’s recent transfer record is questionable and it will all lead to them losing out on the Bundesliga title this term. Borussia Dortmund are inconsistent having already lost 3-1 to newly-promoted Union Berlin.
Nagelsmann has transformed an already very good RB Leipzig into an even more unstoppable beast. Could this season bring their first-ever Bundesliga title? After three weeks, it looks likely.