RB Leipzig has appointed Domenico Tedesco the team’s new head coach, replacing Jesse Marsch who was sacked earlier last week.
Former Schalke boss Tedesco comes in less than a week after Marsch left the club following a third successive Bundesliga defeat leaving the side sitting 11th in the Bundesliga table after 14 rounds of matches with 18 points, 16 points behind leaders Bayern Munich and nine behind third-placed Bayer Leverkusen leaving their Champions League spot next season in trouble.
Immediate former RB Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch who was sacked last week following back to back Bundesliga losses. The club has appointed former Schalke manager Domenico Tedesco as his successor. | PHOTO: Getty Images |
Marsch joined Leipzig from sister club RB Salzburg in the off-season, but the task of replacing Julian Nagelsmann proved too great for the American who enjoyed a tough start of the season.
A defeat to Union Berlin on Saturday has left them 11th in the table, though Leipzig responded under Achim Beierlorzer by beating Manchester City 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday to secure a place in the UEFA Europa League knockouts.
That victory ensured Leipzig drop into a two-legged play-off for a place in the Europa League last 16.
Tedesco has now been handed the reins, signing a contract until June 2023. Leipzig also confirmed assistant coach Beierlorzer has left the club.
Former Schalke manager Domenico Tedesco has been appointed the new RB Leipzig head coach succeeding Jesse Marsch. | PHOTO: Getty Images |
The 36-year-old was last in charge of Spartak Moscow, spending two seasons in Russia after he was dismissed by Schalke in 2019.
Tedesco, who graduated from the DFB coaching school in the same class as Nagelsmann, finished second in the Bundesliga in his first season with Schalke in 2017-18 but was unable to maintain that form the following season.
Despite Tedesco’s dismissal, Schalke’s slide continued and they were relegated from the top flight last term.
His first task will be to fix Leipzig’s defensive issues. They have already committed six errors leading to shots in the Bundesliga – an increase of one from the entirety of last season – and three of those have ended in goals. None of their mistakes directly resulted in goals conceded under Nagelsmann in 2020-21.
Leipzig has let in 18 goals in the top flight but has had an expected goal (xG) against 23.6. Their xG against in the 2020-21 top-flight campaign was 29.6.
Tedesco’s first game in charge will come against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, a home match Bundesliga clash at the Red Bull Arena.
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