Nagelsmann wants RB Leipzig to learn from Man Utd loss: Success is a staircase, not a door

Julian Nagelsmann claimed “success is a staircase and not a door” as he backed his side to learn the lessons from their midweek Champions League humiliation at the hands of Manchester United. 

Leipzig were thrashed 5-0 by a Marcus Rashford-inspired United on Wednesday, their unbeaten start to the 2020-21 season was emphatically ended by the Red Devils. 

Nagelsmann also snapped at reporters in the wake of the hammering after questions about his choice of a particularly eye-catching suit jacket at Old Trafford. 

Leipzig head to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday sitting top of the Bundesliga, having recorded four wins and a draw so far in the league. 

Monchengladbach have never beaten their opponents in a competitive match. In eight previous meetings in the Bundesliga since 2016, there have been three draws and five Leipzig wins. 

“We had to go back one step, but can now go a few steps forward,” Nagelsmann said in a media conference on Friday. 

“Success is a staircase and not a door. There was no debriefing with the whole team.

Onward and upward.

#RBLeipzig pic.twitter.com/A8sUkg1e95

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) October 29, 2020

“I haven’t had the chance yet to discuss this because we only had training on Thursday and I wanted to leave my players by themselves with this experience. 

“They should reflect, recompose themselves. When you see the boys the day after the game, they were very emotional. I had to watch the game again the next day to get a better picture. 

“I can only blame them for the last 15 minutes; we didn’t show what we could. Of course, there were some unnecessary mistakes. 

“We didn’t just quit defending, we conceded three goals within 12 minutes by our own mistakes. In the Bundesliga, we have only conceded one goal in the second half so far, no goal in the last 15 minutes. So it is not very typical for us to fall apart at the end.” 

Nagelsmann identified Marcus Thuram as the main to threat to his side following the forward’s impressive display for Monchengladbach in the Champions League. 

Thuram, the son of former France defender Lilian, scored twice as Monchengladbach drew 2-2 with Real Madrid in Europe. 

Nagelsmann added: “He’s in good shape, had a great performance against Real Madrid. Physically, he’s so good that it is hard to tackle him. If he plays. Maybe he won’t start. But if he plays, he can be very dangerous.”

Leipzig are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run away from home in the league, while they have prevailed on four previous trips to Monchengladbach.