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

RB Leipzig's low position in the Champions League standings does not reflect their performance, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said on Tuesday ahead of their match at San Siro.

Inter are fifth in the 36-team group stage after collecting an impressive 10 points in four games and winning three in a row following a draw at Manchester City.

Leipzig is now one of the five teams that are still without a point.

If they lose on Tuesday, they will equal their longest ever losing streak in the league, having suffered five straight losses 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 told a press conference on Monday.

“In the four Champions League games they have played they have earned more, they just clearly lost to Celtic.

“They have a coach [Marco Rose] who has been there for many years, they have many quality players and the rankings do not reflect their performance in Europe. We know we are facing a strong team.”

Leipzig, who are third in the Bundesliga after losing 4-3 at Hoffenheim on Saturday, kicked off their European season with a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid and home defeats to Juventus (3-2) and Liverpool (1- 0). Last time they lost 3-1 at Celtic.

Inter are now unbeaten in eleven home games in the league (nine wins, two draws) and have kept nine clean sheets in that period. However, Inzaghi says they still need to find more gears.

“We always have to work harder. This positive moment is the best to push even more and improve,” said Inzaghi, reflecting on Saturday's 5-0 win over Verona in Serie A.

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

“Last year it was one thing, this year it's different. There are a lot of pitfalls in both the league and the Champions League.”

Inter, who won the Scudetto last season and finished second in the Champions League in 2023, are third in Serie A, one point behind Napoli and level with second-placed Atalanta.

Midfielder Davide Frattesi is likely to miss the match against Leipzig, but Inzaghi hopes to have midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and forward Lautaro Martinez available.

“Frattesi has had a small problem with his ankle for ten days. It will have to be evaluated. Yesterday it gave him some problems and today he did not feel his best,” Inzaghi said.

“Calhanoglu and Lautaro were absent in Verona, but had two good training sessions yesterday and today. I will evaluate the line-up tomorrow morning.”

Calhanoglu was substituted at half-time in Turkiye's match 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 upon returning from international duty.