RB Leipzig 2020/21: Analysis of life after Werner – scout report

RB Leipzig are now starting life after Timo Werner, who made the move to Chelsea this summer after a couple of years of transfer speculation. For a long time, the German was strongly linked with a move away to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, and then Liverpool, but the West London club snooped in under the noses of them and many other clubs to acquire their man for around £48m.

Following the departure of their man, Leipzig took little time to begin replacing the forward, signing Hwang Hee-chan from their Red Bull associate, RB Salzburg, for a fee in the region of £12m. The South Korean forward enjoyed a very successful domestic and continental campaign, assisting Salzburg to their seventh successive league title. In this analysis, which will be in a form of a scout report, we will establish what type of player he is, and how he will endeavour to replace some of what Werner produced.

Leipzig’s transfer window did not stop there. Julian Nagelsmann decided to make the addition of Alexander Sørloth into his squad, who scored 33 goals and provided 11 assists across all competitions for Trabzonspor last term, on loan from Crystal Palace, for roughly £20m. This team analysis will dissect how Leipzig will play when the Norwegian figurehead starts up front, and how he will adapt to Nagelsmann’s tactics.

In this tactical analysis, we will see how both compare to current striking option Yussuf Poulsen, and how all three will set out in Nagelsmann’s various systems.

Leipzig’s tactical setup in the attacking phase

Red Bull, as an association, have a playing methodology which is consistent throughout all their clubs across the world (Leipzig, Salzburg, New York, etc.). They attack vertically through quick forward passes, press aggressively out of possession, and interestingly, this season under Naglesmann, Leipzig have displayed more tactical versatility, with the coach switching between three at-the-back and four at-the-back systems, depending on the strength of the opposition. Within these systems, the tactical concepts stay the same, with the main differences coming from how the build-up their attack from the back in the attacking phase, whether they are in a four at-the-back or three-at-the-back system. The main differences are unavoidable, given that the positional slots in the systems are different. The concepts that underpin these systems will, however, remain the same.

One of these concepts is one of rotation in the build-up. The full-backs or wing-backs will position themselves relatively high up the pitch in the beginnings of the build-up phase. This is a simple tactical mechanism to provide width, but also to force the opposition to defend in a wider block to cover this threat. This, in turn, creates space centrally that Leipzig can exploit to progress the ball forwards (see beneath). Leipzig’s central defenders will split wide, either in a chain of two or three, depending on the system selected, then the deepest central midfielder will drop back to provide a passing option to the man in possession. The use of this central midfielder is used to provide a passing option beyond the first line of pressure from the opposition. A diminutive player such as Hwang or Dani Olmo playing upfront would benefit from this tactical approach. With the marauding full-backs high up the pitch dragging the opposing defenders into wide areas, creating gaps for an angled run by one of Hwang or Olmo, exploiting the space in the process.

While at Hoffenheim, Nagelsmann tended to use only one player in the base of the midfield,and  he has adjusted to using a double pivot at Leipzig to great effect. In using two players in this pivot position, we see the versatility to allow one player to rotate into advanced positions when in possession, while the other retains a deeper position. In possession, it is rare to see these players operating on the same line as one another, instead, they will tend to be staggered, with the player closest to the ball positioned deeper. This allows the ball to be played into the double pivot, and then played forward to the second player in the pivot, which adds to the verticality in possession. This verticality and directness suits a player like Poulsen or Sørloth down to the ground, who has a preference to back into a defender, receive the ball to feet, and produce quick attacking combinations with his teammates.

In the attacking phase, we regularly see attacking players take up spaces between the lines of the opposition and allowing the vertical pass to be played into dangerous zones. In the final third, in particular, we will see Leipzig overload the central areas before playing quick vertical passes that bypass the opposition defensive block. This is the main reason why Leipzig create so many opportunities on goal in their games this season, they have perfected the art of playing these vertical combinations. As the ball is played centrally into the feet of an attacking player, as soon as the pass is played, the second striker starts moving and the ball is immediately played through the last line to create a goalscoring chance. In moving so many players high up the pitch, Leipzig makes it very difficult for the opposition’s defensive block.