Has Leipzig lost all hope of shining in the Final 8 of the Champions League from… June 18, the day of the officialization of the transfer of Timo Werner to Chelsea? Obviously, the question is on all the heads of the fans of the German club which had seduced Europe with an exciting attacking football and a host of young talents with a great future. Of which Werner was the head of the gondola in view of the extraordinary season he had just achieved in the Bundesliga - 28 goals and 8 assists -, but also in the Champions League with his 4 achievements. Since then, Leipzig has found a replacement for the German international in the person of Hwang Hee-chan, who arrives from Salzburg crowned with a season of 11 goals and 15 assists. Except that the South Korean international will only be able to put on his new jersey from next season, and not from this Thursday against Atlético Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League (9 p.m., RMC Sport).
"I am a Chelsea player from July 1 and I am paid by this club from that date."
Timo wernerWerner, he could have chosen to play this Final 8 of the Champions League with his future ex-club. The regulations authorized it. But the striker decided to prioritize his new roster, knowing the Blues wanted to welcome him as soon as possible. “Of course, it hurts me not to be able to help Leipzig to play the Champions League, he confided in the columns of Sportbuzzer . But I am a Chelsea player from July 1 and I am paid by this club from that date. " In other words, the pursuit of his career could not be accompanied by sentimentality when the leaders of London spent more than 50 million euros to obtain his signature and at 24, it was for him to cut the cord and to take flight. Leaves to draw a line on a quarter-final of the Champions League, or even more if affinities (and qualification of Leipzig).
So how do you bring down Colchoneros whose defensive strength is one, if not the hallmark? In an interview with Marca , Julian Nagelsmann, the young coach - 33 years old - from Leipzig, first quipped on the subject: “Already, it's a good thing that we don't have to play ten and that we can replace him in the starting team ”. Before adopting a more serious tone: "Timo is a great player who has scored a lot for us, but I see other players who were in his shadow and who are quite capable of replacing him." In this case two attackers should share his succession in Lisbon: Patrik Schick and Yussuf Poulsen. Two players who have already proven themselves in the past but who, obviously, do not have the talent or the aura of Werner.
Patrik Schick, the number 1 candidate for succession
The first named nevertheless had a good first season in the Bundesliga, despite several physical glitches that prevented him from being able to chain meetings. With 10 goals scored in 22 matches played (including 15 starts), the 24-year-old Czech international has given his coach some guarantees. Leipzig would also think of lifting the option to buy 25 million euros about him, since he was only loaned by AS Roma, where he experienced a failure on a personal level for two seasons. (5 goals scored in Serie A in 46 matches). Schick therefore knows what is at stake for him in this Champions League Final 8. And if the Czech were to fail, Poulsen could replace him. Brilliant last season with 15 goals scored, his best exercise in Leipzig since his arrival in 2013, the Dane has struggled to confirm this year (5 goals scored in the league and only 12 starts). But in a more physical register than Schick - he measures 1.92m for 85 kilos - Poulsen could also pose concerns to the Madrid rearguard.
Other players, in the midfield, could also try to bring more on the offensive plan before compensating for the absence of Werner. Especially the Spaniard Dani Olmo, great hope of Iberian football at 22 years old and who is offered a magnificent opportunity to take the light. Author of 16 goals in all competitions, the Austrian Marcel Sabitzer will also have his say before perhaps flying to other skies. In any case, for Nagelsmann, it is clear that his team will have to be “creative. We will have to try to have control of the game against a European heavyweight of recent years. Diego Simeone has done a fantastic job and built a strong team that we will need to break through. ” Even without his number 1 wall pass ...
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