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Domenico Tedesco left to pick up the pieces

May 6, 2022

RB Leipzig's Europa League campaign crashed in Glasgow as Rangers won 3-1 to book their ticket to the final in Seville. For Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco, it was another night to forget in a season going south.

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RB Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco applauds after the UEFA Europa League game between Rangers and Leipzig
Tedesco's team have lost three in four and are now out of the Europa LeagueImage: AFP via Getty Images

Ibrox erupted as the clock ticked into the 80th minute. John Lundstram had put Rangers back in front — just after Leipzig had thought Christopher Nkunku's goal had forced extra time.

But there will be no first European final for the Red Bull outfit, out of the Europa League, losing ground in the Bundesliga and with a German Cup final to take anything from a season that is unraveling fast.

Their ties to the multinational conglomerate make them unsuitable recipients of European silverware to many anyway, making this a good night for traditionalists.

This was a superb performance by Rangers who reach their first European final since 2008, the last ever contest of the UEFA Cup final – played at the City of Manchester Stadium. It will be another shot at European glory for the Scottish side, whose only European silverware came in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1972.

John Lundstram celebrates his winner as Leipzig players hold their heads in their hands in the UEFA Europa League game between Rangers and Leipzig
John Lundstram's 80th minute strike puts Leipzig out.Image: AFP via Getty Images

Leipzig's season collapsing

For Tedesco, he's staring at a season in freefall. While his compatriots in Frankfurt were celebrating their victory back home, Tedesco was left to rue his team's part in there being no all-German final. Instead, it's Rangers who go to Seville.

Tedesco was already left irritated by the mistakes that had led to his team's defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Monday.

"We're giving out too many gifts at an important stage of the season," he said.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Leipzig's CEO, was in a more charitable mood: "We knew what to expect, but experiencing this kind of atmosphere in person is something different. This is part of a recent negative trend and it's come at the worst time in the final stretch. Of course, we hoped to achieve more than we have, tonight is huge disappointment, but there's no shame in being knocked out in the semi-finals."

Where this crash in form has quite come from is anyone's guess. While he has undoubtedly improved Leipzig's fortunes from where he found them following Jesse Marsch's short tenure, Leipzig's hard work under Tedesco is now halfway out the window, with Freiburg likely to be the main thorn in Tedesco's side — in the league and in the German Cup final.