RB Leipzig countered the superstars Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne with the duo Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner on the offensive.
While the 31-year-old Swede Forsberg is experiencing his umpteenth spring and is practically Mister Champions League with ten goals in 34 games, national striker Werner (nine goals for RB) can also be a factor in the round of 16 second leg from 9 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video) become English champions Manchester City. After all, he won the premier class against Pep Guardiola’s team – with a 1-0 win for Chelsea on May 29, 2021.
Respect to Haaland
Werner knows how to win at Etihad Stadium. With coach Thomas Tuchel, there was a 2-1 victory in the Premiere League at the beginning of May 2021 – Werner played Marcos Alonso for the winning goal in added time. After the renewed absence of Christopher Nkunku, who will probably play for Werner’s ex-club next season, Rose is counting on the Forsberg/Werner duo after the 1-1 draw in the first leg on the island – and on “a lot of trust, courage and our best game of the season”. He said of his former protégé Haaland: “You will never be able to completely switch him off. But there is not only Erling, but a lot of world class on the pitch – we have to be wide awake.”
Werner himself raves about his strike partner. “We’ve been attuned to each other for a long time, and we really, really enjoy playing together. There are mechanisms that work very well,” said the 27-year-old. Forsberg, who scored the 3-0 winning goal in the second leg against Tottenham Hotspur in the first quarter-finals in 2019/2020, is the man of the important goals at RB anyway.
Dani Olmo could give another offensive impetus, even if he is not yet completely fit. “He’s definitely a factor and can play 20 minutes,” said Rose, adding: “Nevertheless, we’re talking about a Champions League round of 16 and he’s not yet the Dani as we know him. But he can already help us .”
