Leipzig in wrong Champions League position, says Inter’s Inzaghi

RB Leipzig’s low position in the Champions League standings does not reflect their performances, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said before the game at San Siro on Tuesday.

Inter sit fifth in the 36-team group stage after picking up an impressive 10 points from four games and winning three in a row after starting with a draw at Manchester City.

Leipzig is now one of five teams that do not yet have a point.

If they lose on Tuesday they will break their longest losing streak in the competition, having lost five in a row between February and October 2021 – two under Julian Nagelsmann and three under Jesse Marsch.

“Leipzig is a team that has been playing in the Champions League for six years and had the best defense in the Bundesliga until Saturday,” Inzaghi said at a press conference on Monday.

“They deserved more in the four Champions League games they played, but they clearly lost against Celtic.”

“They have a coach (Marco Rose) who has been there for many years, they have a lot of good players and the rankings do not reflect their performances in Europe. We know we are up against a strong team.”

Leipzig, in third place in the Bundesliga after Saturday’s 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim, started its European campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Atlético Madrid and home defeats against Juventus (3-2) and Liverpool (1-0 ). Last time they lost 3-1 at Celtic.

Inter, on the other hand, are unbeaten in eleven home games in this competition (nine wins, two draws) and have kept nine clean sheets in this series. However, Inzaghi says they still need to find more equipment.

“We have to work harder and harder, this positive moment is the best to push even harder and improve,” said Inzaghi, looking back on Saturday’s 5-0 win in Verona in Serie A.

“We always try to find out where we can do better. On Saturday in Verona we scored five goals in one half, but we saw where we made some mistakes that could have cost us dearly.”

“Last year it was one thing, this year it’s different. There are many pitfalls in both the league and the Champions League.”

Inter, which won the Scudetto last season and was Champions League runner-up in 2023, is third in Serie A, a point behind Napoli and level with second-place Atalanta.

Midfielder Davide Frattesi is likely to miss the Leipzig game but Inzaghi hopes to have midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and striker Lautaro Martinez available.

“Frattesi has had a small problem with his ankle for 10 days. This needs to be investigated. Yesterday it caused him some problems and today he didn’t feel at his best,” said Inzaghi.

“Calhanoglu and Lautaro were missing in Verona but had two good training sessions yesterday and today. I’ll evaluate the lineup tomorrow morning.”

Calhanoglu was substituted at half-time in Turkiye’s game against Wales on November 16 with a muscle problem, while Martinez, who scored in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru, fell ill after returning from international play.