Kevin Kampl’s thoughts were with his offspring. For the second time in a row he had missed his offspring’s birthday. The son should be able to overlook this, however, because the absence of the father has paid off. Finally, Kevin Kampl scored the decisive goal in RB Leipzig’s 1-0 (0-0) win at SC Freiburg.
The Saxons climbed to third place in the Bundesliga and three games before the end of the season they have a good starting position for the final sprint. The goal is clear: Qualifying again for the Champions League has top priority.
Kampl: “We have now laid the foundation”
“Personally, I was very happy,” said Kampl, who came on as a substitute in the second half and missed the gala performance in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on Tuesday in Freiburg due to muscular problems (5-1). “You’re already crushed because the little one doesn’t understand why dad is always gone either. I hope he saw that it was worth it.” It was Kampl’s second goal in three weeks after not scoring a league goal in almost three years.
The people of Leipzig now have everything back in their own hands. Not only did they overtake Sport-Club, which is now in fifth place, in the table. 1. FC Union Berlin also fell behind RB. “We have now laid the foundation stone,” said Kampl. “But we know that things can go very differently again very quickly.”
For Freiburg it was the second setback in a week, but after the defenseless appearance a few days ago, the Breisgauer showed a different face when they met RB again. “We have to accept that, they’re just that good,” said coach Christian Streich.
The performance of the sports club this season is not enough to put the top clubs in the league under pressure. Freiburg have only won one of seven duels against the top five teams this Bundesliga season. Streich was nevertheless satisfied with the reaction shown. “We gave everything, but we just can’t get a point against teams like Leipzig or Bayern Munich,” said the coach.
The gap between Freiburg and RB is one point – and next weekend Union Berlin is already facing the next duel with a direct competitor. “It’s going to be a completely different game. We won’t get many chances,” said Streich. “It’s going to be a fight.”
Leipzig still welcomes Bremen and Schalke
For Leipzig, this constellation means that the hunters will take points away from each other. “It’s great for us because we’re still playing for Bayern,” said international Timo Werner, who failed at the post in the early stages. “But if you’re honest, third place should have been there much earlier. We played really badly for a while.”
This phase seems to have been overcome just in time. Leipzig remained patient in Freiburg and have now won six of the last seven competitive games. In addition to the game in Munich, the home games against Werder Bremen and relegation candidates FC Schalke 04 are also pending. “As long as we win these games, nobody can get us away from fourth place,” said Werner.
In order to advance squad planning, this final placement is mandatory. Only then can top performers like Spanish international Dani Olmo be retained.
RB is on the right track. And with a win on June 3 in the final of the DFB Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Saxons could, according to Kampl, turn an “okay season into an outstanding season”. That would be an additional birthday present for the son at home.
