RB Leipzig are hitting new heights under Ole Werner
RB Leipzig continue to go from strength to strength under Ole Werner, registering their biggest win of the season on Matchday 8 with an incredible six-goal blitz against Augsburg.
Their attacking trident of Antonio Nusa, Rômulo and Yan Diomande were responsible for the first three of those goals, playing their part in Leipzig being four up by half-time.
That was Diomande’s first goal in Bundesliga football, and a reward for his stellar performances in the opening weeks of the season. The towering Brazilian at the centre of that trident, Rômulo, also evidenced how comfortable he’s become in German football by netting his third goal of the season, and registering his sixth goal involvement in total.
Watch: Augsburg 0-6 RB Leipzig
Nusa also hit home his first goal of the campaign, and made sure that all of the frontline had notched by the 22nd minute.
The unstoppable Christoph Baumgartner then made it four shortly before the break, netting his fifth goal of the season already from midfield. The Austrian is just two goals off his best ever Bundesliga tally having only played eight games of this season, and is one of many Leipzig players to have found another gear this year.
Speaking after the game Werner was effervescent in his praise for his players, saying, "I am completely satisfied. No game is perfect, but today's came close. Up until it went to 3-0, I believe it was a relatively level affair, although we had the more threatening chances. We implemented much of what we had hoped to beforehand."
Watch: Baumgartner in bloom
Although Leipzig currently sit five points behind Bayern Munich in second, that tally shrinks down to only two points when ignoring their opening day humbling at the hands of the Bavarian giants. In those seven games they’ve won six and drawn one, scoring 16 goals and conceding just three in that time.
Leipzig’s first seven games of 2024/25 saw them score 11 goals and concede two, collecting 17 points in the process with five wins and two draws. This season’s seven game streak has seen them better their goal difference by +4, and collect two more points.
The extreme level of their post-Matchday 1 improvement has also been down to the increased presence of up-and-coming talent Assan Ouédraogo, who has registered two goals and two assists in five starts so far this campaign. The second of those two goals came in their demolition of Augsburg, where he also assisted striker Rômulo for his goal.
An asset in both halves of the pitch thanks to his height, intelligence and range of passing, Ouédraogo is finally flourishing after an injury-hit first campaign in white and red that saw him make just five appearances in all competitions in 2024/25, a total he has already almost doubled this season.
Leipzig's Matchday 8 win at the WWK Arena was their sixth win of the season, meaning they haven’t stumbled through their unbeaten run, rather flown. Collecting so many wins doesn’t just depend on scoring goals though, but also keeping them out.
French youngster Castello Lukeba has started at the heart of their defence in every game so far this campaign, and even got on the scoresheet in the final half hour of their Bavarian rout. Even despite that opening day loss at the hands of Bayern, only three sides have conceded fewer than Leipzig's nine in the Bundesliga so far this term.
While Lukeba has impressed, older heads such as goalkeeper Peter Gulácsi and Willi Orbán remain as consistent as ever, while David Raum has taken like a duck to water in the captain's role.
Keeping up with Bayern may prove to be an impossible task this term after the Bavarians' perfect start to the campaign, but if anyone looks capable of doing so, it is Leipzig. Still, although his side are currently the closest challengers to the reigning champions, Werner is not getting ahead of himself.
"We are taking things game by game and are happy that we have the points on the board and that we are where we are," he said after the Augsburg match. "The standings are not particularly significant for us at this moment in time, though."
Following last term's disappointment of failing to qualify for European football, the two-time DFB Cup winners have shown their character by bouncing back in the best possible way.
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