Timo Werner replaced in RB Leipzig victory in Champions League
Marco rose hugged his fellow coach from Shakhtar Donetsk long and tight, Timo Werner was no longer on the pitch at that point. RB Leipzig has reached the round of 16 of the Champions League with a 4-0 (1-0) win against the Ukrainians, but the Saxons and national coach Hansi Flick now have to worry about the national soccer player. Three weeks before the World Championships in Qatar, Werner had been substituted early with an injury to his left ankle.
“It wasn’t an easy game. Hopefully Timo isn’t seriously injured,” said goalscorer Christopher Nkunku. Werner tried for a few more minutes after Taras Stepanenko’s foul, but limped into the Warsaw Stadion dressing room in the 19th minute with his head down. The severity of the injury was initially unclear. Werner complained of pain in his foot. “He was in pain when he walked. It still needs to be examined in more detail. Doc says it doesn’t appear to be anything wild,” Rose said. On Thursday at the hospital in Leipzig more detailed investigations are carried out. Germany will play their first game of the World Cup on November 23 against Japan.
At the time Werner was substituted, Nkunku (10′) had already put Leipzig in the lead when he dusted off his fellow striker after a missed chance. Also Andre Silva (50′) and Dominik Szoboszlai (62′) scored, the 4-0 was scored in the 68th minute as an own goal by Valerij Bondar and not for Dani Olmo. As a result, Leipzig qualified for the round of 16 as second in Group F behind defending champions Real Madrid. It didn’t look like it after the start of the group phase with two defeats a month ago.
Leipzig fans criticize admission controls
After nine unbeaten games in a row, one point was enough for Leipzig in the game that was relocated to Warsaw due to the Ukraine war. Before the game, there were ugly scenes at the entrance to the guest block. Leipzig fans criticized what they saw as tough admission controls, wrote on Twitter that women almost had to undress and minors “were touched intimately without cause”. The club confirmed this on Wednesday when asked by dpa. As a consequence, the active fan scene decided to dismantle the planned choreography. In addition, the fan banners were hung upside down as a sign of protest.
“We condemned this form of controls and have already lodged a complaint with UEFA about what we believe to be the harsh admission procedure,” said RB after the clear 4-0 win against Donetsk, describing the admission controls as “disproportionate”. After initial checks by a security service, the police are said to have taken over. Among other things, fans are said to have been “shone in their underwear with a flashlight”, according to an RB message.
In addition, several fans were asked to “take off their scarves during the controls”. According to the club, they were not allowed to resume this after the controls. “Two people were also taken into custody as part of the controls,” as confirmed by RB. The club is already in contact with the German embassy in Warsaw – “in case these RBL fans have to stay in Warsaw overnight,” it said.
Nevertheless, there was verbal support – and the team acted spurred on by it. Leipzig started with pressure, Werner failed after eight minutes with a shot from an acute angle. Two minutes later, the international escaped again through the interface of Donetsk back four. Goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin fended off his attempt, but right in front of Nkunku’s feet. He celebrated his third goal of the season in the premier class in his own way: Nkunku took a red balloon out of his neck, blew it up and let himself be celebrated with his arms outstretched to the side. “It was for my son. He likes balloons,” said the 24-year-old later.
The Leipzig game got a break with the Werner substitution, Emil Forsberg, who came for him, initially hardly set any offensive accents. But Donetsk had some dangerous scenes, but didn’t stay consistent enough in the end.
Silva showed the necessary consistency shortly after half-time. An imprecise cross from David Raum was headed by Mohamed Simakan as an arc lamp from the right side to the far post, where Silva stood and punished Trubin’s hesitant run out. Donetsk now needed three goals, which gave Leipzig room to counterattack.
Leipzig remained snappy and made the preliminary decision. Kevin Kampl captured the ball on the center line and quickly switched with a pass to Nkunku. The France international served Szoboszlai, who rounded and completed Trubin. Rose was now able to conserve energy with a view to Saturday’s game in Hoffenheim, taking Raum, Szoboszlai and Simakan off the field. And Joker Olmo’s action just 26 seconds after he was substituted on ensured the final result.
