5 reasons RB Leipzig can win the 2024/25 Bundesliga title
RB Leipzig are level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich eight matches into the 2024/25 campaign. Is this going to be their season?
bundesliga.com has five reasons why Die Roten Bullen can win the title...
1) They've already toppled the champions
Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen set a new gold standard last term by going unbeaten en route to winning a domestic double. After just over a full season without defeat, that remarkable 35-game Bundesliga run was ended on Matchday 2 of 2024/25 - by Leipzig. A highly improbable result, Marco Rose's side hit back from 2-0 down to snap the streak and lay down a serious marker. If Leipzig can beat the unbeatable, they can beat anyone...
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 RB Leipzig - highlights
2) They're unbeaten since February
That incredible result forms part of a brilliant 19-match unbeaten sequence in the Bundesliga, dating back to a narrow 2-1 loss to Bayern on 24 February. Leipzig have won 13 times during that run, including six times so far this season. Their 14 goals scored this season speaks to their clinical side, while six clean sheets in eight is the sort of steely foundation Sir Alex Ferguson was alluding to when he famously said, "Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles."
3) A top scorer in waiting
Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi has a habit of taking the plaudits at Leipzig, but it's Löis Openda who's their biggest goal threat. The Belgian struck 24 times across his debut Bundesliga season, finishing third to Serhou Guirassy (28) and Harry Kane (36) in the scoring charts. He's on track to post similar numbers in 2024/25, with five goals to show for his first eight outings - including the sensational brace that broke Leverkusen's back on Matchday 2. And let's not forget, top scorer's cannons and Bundesliga winner's medals have a habit of going hand in hand.
Watch: The best of Loïs Openda on Matchdays 1 and 2
4) Perhaps the Bundesliga's deepest squad
Even if Openda isn't firing, Leipzig are always good for goals. Xavi and Benjamin Šeško complete Rose's preferred golden triangle, while the likes of Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner, Yussuf Poulsen and André Silva are certainly not a Plan B to be scoffed at. In midfield, the Leipzig boss is blessed with options aplenty, from mainstays Amadou Haidara and Nicolas Seiwald to hard-runners like Atlético Madrid-owned Arthur Vermeeren and veteran Kevin Kampl. The defensive ranks, meanwhile, are stacked with A-grade performers, making rotation during those jam-packed weeks juggling domestic and continental fare a doddle.
Watch: Rock-solid Leipzig keeping pace
5) Ready, Willing and Stable
Promising seasons have often been followed by disruptive summers for Leipzig - just look at 2020/21 when they lost top scorer Timo Werner and star coach Julian Nagelsmann after finishing as runners-up in the Bundesliga. This year things have for once been different. Xavi's unlikely return was secured and Šeško ended up staying after a months of links away. Marco Rose also re-signed, and even after Dani Olmo's departure to Barcelona, Leipzig made sure they weren't short up top by landing Nusa straight after. Such promising business has laid the foundations for a rapid start that shows no signs of slowing.
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