There was a time when RB Leipzig seemed like the next best club in German football after Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The energy drink maker had apparently given its football club wings — finishing 2nd in 2020/21, runners-up in the DFB-Pokal, and producing a coveted coach in Julian Nagelsmann to boot. As recently as 2022/23, Leipzig was hot on the heels of the top two, before a tough seventh-placed finish in 2024/25.
This season, the gulf to Borussia Dortmund has widened and the chasm that separates the club from FC Bayern is devastating. Leipzig has played three matches against the German Rekordmeister now including Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal defeat, and lost by a combined 13-1.
That’s not to say they didn’t have chances. In the second two, Die Roten Bullen looked lively enough to put the Bavarians under considerable pressure early before folding like clockwork. But fold like clockwork they did. After an early goal was wiped out by VAR, Leipzig managed just one shot on target the rest of the way, and after Harry Kane’s opening score in the second half Bayern nearly put in another goal instantly…before trying the same trick and finishing the job.
It wasn’t a 5-1 smashing this time, but from 2-0, it was smooth sailing.
For moments, Leipzig flashed danger. They just couldn’t make them count, and were probably quite lucky to escape a Bayern barrage the other way. Now, bounced from the German cup, Leipzig finds itself in a race for European contention — and it is not at all clear that they can outrun Bayer Leverkusen or VfB Stuttgart, who each advanced in the Pokal, for a Champions League place.
It is not that Leipzig does not have good players, but the aura lately is decidedly less than threatening. Gone are the likes of Dani Olmo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku, Joško Gvardiol, Xavi Simons, and Benjamin Šeško. In their place are gems such as Yan Diomande, Antonio Nusa, and the young German national team hopeful Brajan Gruda. For all the profiting, Leipzig still have not managed to become a powerhouse. And how long before their newest crop of promising players is sold again?
What’s missing? Why is one of the Bundesliga’s most well-resourced challengers to Bayern Munich drifting further and further from contention? These will be questions for first-year coach Ole Werner to answer. It is early in his tenure, but it has been a rough inaugural season for a club that surely imagined themselves challenging at the top.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
