Episode 112
UCL Bound! Schlager’s Strike, Orban’s Heroics & The Matchday 34 Preview
Full Time — The definitive weekly breakdown.
In This Episode:
- 📊 Match Review: RB Leipzig vs St Pauli (Sofascore Data Analysis)
- 🔎 Player Watch: David Raum vs Eric Smith — Did they make the difference?
- 🔮 The Preview: SC Freiburg & Predictions
- 💬 Fan Voice: Featured comments from Kenny(SpeakPipe) and Ava
Don’t Miss Out:
- 🏟️ The Digital Terrace: Don’t just watch — join the community. Our Discord is the digital equivalent of the standing area; it’s where we talk tactics, vent after a loss, and celebrate every goal 24/7. Grab your spot on the terrace here: https://discord.gg/jE6ZzwcCYu
- 📅 Next Livestream: Join us this Saturday at 11:00 PM ACST as we take on SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga on match-day 34!
- 📥 Get Involved: Send questions via socials or record an audio message on SpeakPipe to be played on-air.
- 🗣️ Join the Show: Want to represent your club or share your RBL take? Book a guest spot here: https://rbltalk.captivate.fm/booking
- ☕ Support the Show: Help us cover running costs here: https://rbltalk.captivate.fm/support
Partners & Credits:
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- 🔗 Affiliates: Captivate | Descript | Restream
🎵 Music: Andrii Poradovskyi (Pixabay)
Transcript
Cue the Champions League anthem.
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:We are officially back after that absolute
heartbreak of missing out on Europe's
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:elite competition entirely last season.
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:RB Leipzig is returning
to the Champions League.
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:Hello and welcome to
episode 112 of RBL Talk.
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:I am your host, Justin Crozer, and
today we're breaking down the massive,
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:nervy, beautiful 2-1 victory over St.
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:Pauli that officially punched our ticket.
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:If you were writing a movie script about
this season, you literally could not write
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:a better ending for the specific match.
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:The tension, the tactical chess match,
and getting to watch Xaver Schlager
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:score an absolute wonder goal in his
final home game at the Red Bull Arena.
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:It was perfect, but as always on
this show, we don't just ride the
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:emotion, we look into the data.
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:Let's pull up the Sofascore match data
and get into the microscopic details.
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:Because to be completely honest with
you, this match played out almost exactly
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:like we predicted it would last week.
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:We knew Alexander Blessin
was going to s- bring St.
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:Pauli to Leipzig, park the bus,
and try to drag us into an ugly,
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:frustrating, low-scoring affair, and
they certainly tried their hardest.
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:When you look at the match overview,
we completely monopolized the football.
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:We held a massive 70% possession
and completed 646 accurate passes,
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:compared to their mere 211.
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:But for the first 44 minutes,
all that possession felt hollow.
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:It was frustrating by design.
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:When a team packs the center of the
penalty area with three giant center-backs
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:in a rigid 3-5-2, your traditional striker
is going to get swallowed up, and poor
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:Rômulo felt every bit of that isolation.
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:He walked away with a quiet 6.2
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:rating, managing just 31 touches
and getting dispossessed 10 times.
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:It wasn't a lack of effort
from him, it was just the
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:reality of the tactical setup.
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:There was no oxygen in
the middle of the pitch.
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:On the other side of that battle, Tomoya
Endo was an absolute warrior for St.
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:Pauli early on.
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:He pulled a 6.8
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:rating, and his defensive
numbers explain exactly why we
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:couldn't break through initially.
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:He won all six of his aerial
duels and six ground duels.
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:Every time we tried to whip any hopeful
ball into the box, he was there to head
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:it away, racking up five clearances.
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:Because the center was blocked,
our wide players had to take on a
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:massive physical burden to create
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:. Their own chaos.
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:Yann Diamande and Rajan Gruda were
absolute dribbling machines out there.
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:Diamande's numbers are outrageous.
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:Six successful dribbles
and eight ground duels won.
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:He was certainly taking players on,
driving the ball forward over 210 meters.
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:Gruda matched that intensity
with three successful dribbles
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:of his own on the opposite flank,
generating a team-high 0.59
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:XG.
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:They had to play incredibly high-risk
one-on-one football just to force St.
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:Pauli out of their shape.
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:And we have to acknowledge that St.
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:Pauli almost made us pay for pushing
so high to support those wingers.
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:In the 34th minute, completely against
the run of play, Martijn Kaars got loose
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:on a fast break and hit the woodwork.
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:That was a 0.35
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:XG chance, their best of the
entire match up to that point.
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:It was a terrifying reminder that
even when you hold 70% possession,
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:a low-block team only needs one
mistake to ruin your weekend.
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:But our ultimate tactical victory
came from how we broke the supply
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:lines of their 3-5-2 system.
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:And it starts with our wingbacks.
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:We completely pinned their
wide men, Pereka and Luis
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:Opi, deep into their own half.
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:Opi had a miserable afternoon
trying to contain our right flank.
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:He was subbed off with a 6.4
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:rating and zero successful dribbles.
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:Because those wingbacks
couldn't get forward, St.
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:Pauli's central midfielders
were left stranded.
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:Having to cover impossible amounts
of ground, look at Joel Chima Fujita.
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:He had to engage in a massive 20
ground duels just to put out the fires.
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:He was so busy doing the dirty work that
he offered zero key passes going forward.
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:His midfield partner, Connor
Metcalfe, completely ghosted
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:the game, losing possession 13
times before being subbed off.
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:And that midfield mismatch set the stage
for the emotional climax of the season.
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:Right on the stroke of halftime,
in the 45th minute, Xavier
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:Schlager found a breakthrough.
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:I want to spend a minute on
Xavier here because a 7.7
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:rating is a phenomenal send-off for
his final match at the Red Bull Arena.
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:He logged 81 touches, carried
the ball over 316 meters, and
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:completely ran the engine room.
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:But that goal, you don't have
to look at the XG on this.
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:It was not an easy chance.
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:It registered just 0.12
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:expected goals.
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:But he struck it so perfectly
that the expected goals on
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:target skyrocketed to 0.73.
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:It was a vintage Schlager strike,
especially when we needed it most.
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:And it completely shattered St.
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:Pauli's game plan right
before the halftime whistle.
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:Coming out of the half, we looked
to put the game to bed, which brings
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:us to our pre-match player watch
duel, David Raum versus Eric Smith.
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:I think it's safe to say David
Raum won the battle empathetically.
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:Raum basically operated as a left
winger, putting up a seven-point-four
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:rating and providing the crucial
assist in the fifty-fourth minute.
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:Meanwhile, we completely
starved Eric Smith of the ball.
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:I warned you all last week that
Smith is their passing metronome, but
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:under our relentless press, he only
managed forty-six touches all game.
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:And look at the Sofa Score passing radar.
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:It is covered in red, inaccurate
arrows pointing forward.
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:We forced him to rush his
clearances until he was subbed
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:off in the eighty-nineth minute.
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:Raum's fifty-fourth-minute cross
found none other than Willi Orban.
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:If you're a member of the Digital Terrace,
you know how crucial we can be of the
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:backline last week against Leverkusen.
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:Well, Willi Orban responded
with an absolute monster class.
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:Sofa Score gave him an outrageous
eight-point-nine rating.
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:He had a hundred and sixty touches.
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:He completed a hundred and forty of
his hundred and forty-six passes.
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:He completely dictated
the game from the back.
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:And that goal, he buried an incredibly
difficult header from a corner that just
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:had zero point zero two XG probability.
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:Pure effort from a club leader.
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:Up two-nil, Ol Werner went to the bench
in the sixty-nineth minute, bringing
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:on Nicolas Seiwald and Max Grafe.
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:The goal was to lock down the
flanks and recycle possession.
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:From a passing perspective, they did.
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:Grafe hit ninety-two percent
pass accuracy, and Seiwald hit
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:eighty-five percent, but we lost that
aggressive forward-thinking bite.
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:Both subs walked away with six-point-three
ratings, our lowest of the match.
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:Our intensity dropped, and St.
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:Pauli manager Alexander
Blessin smelled blood.
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:He threw on Sesay in the
seventy-second minute, and the
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:data shows exactly why he earned a
seven-point-five rating off the bench.
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:In the eighty-sixth minute, Jackson
Irvine, who we kept completely
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:quiet all game, finally slipped
his marker and found Sesay.
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:The latter took a brutal zero point one
two XG half chance and turned it into a
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:zero point six six XGOT clinical finish.
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:Just like that, it's two-one,
and the panic sets in.
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:Those last four minutes of stoppage
time were absolute torture.
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:Irvine nearly broke our hearts in
the ninety-fourth minute with a shot
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:on target, and Daniel Siani even
managed a header in the dying seconds.
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:But the lads dug deep.
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:Castello Lukeba cleared the...
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:his lines.
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:Willi Orban stood tall.
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:The final whistle blew,
two-one to RB Leipzig.
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:We suffered for it, but the
Champions League is coming
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:back to the Red Bull Arena.
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:That takes us right from the
data sheet to the grandstands.
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:Let's head over to the digital
terrace for my favorite part
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:of the show, the Fan Voice.
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:I threw three questions into the
Discord after the final whistle.
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:Where does Schlager rank in our history?
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:How did you rate the tactical
setup and that late scare?
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:And who was your man of the match?
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:Ava dropped a great response
in the chat, and he came out
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:swinging right out of the gate.
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:On Schlager's legacy, he says he's
easily top five in the last four years,
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:ranking him just behind Sabitzer, Xavi
Simons, Gulacsi, and maybe Nkunku.
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:But then he dropped this absolute grenade.
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:Ava wrote, and I quote, "I
think Leipzig's Nkunku was far
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:worse than the stats showed."
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:Ava, we might need to dedicate
an entire extra time episode
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:just to debate that Nkunku take.
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:That is incredibly spicy.
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:But I completely agree that putting
Xaver Schlager in that elite top five
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:category is totally justified after
everything he's given to this club
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:When it came to s- the late St.
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:Pauli push, Ava was brutally honest.
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:He said, "The late push happened
because the players weren't even trying.
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:They felt too comfortable, and
that almost cost us the game."
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:And Terrace, Ava is spot on here.
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:It completely validates what we just
talked about in the match review regarding
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:those sixty-ninth-minute substitutions.
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:The passing was secure, but the intensity
just completely fell off a cliff.
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:When you get too comfortable
in the Bundesliga, even against
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:a low-block team fighting for
survival, you can get punished.
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:Lesson three on Cissé, we switched
off, and suddenly we were fighting
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:for our Champions League s- lives.
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:Ava's eye test saw exactly
what the moment data showed us.
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:Next up, we have an audio submission
from Kenny over on SpeakPipe.
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:Let's take a listen.
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:Kenny: Hey guys, so it may seem sort of
obvious, but I think today is the perfect
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:chance to reflect on the contributions
Willie Orban has made to this team and,
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:um, and really sort of give him his dues.
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:So for me, um, when you have a team
where, uh, there's so much rotation year
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:over year on, on who's in the team and
there's so much youth and inexperience,
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:uh, you need a, a real calm, defensive
bedrock to sort of just talk people
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:through the game, make sure everyone's
doing their jobs and, uh, just be the
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:sort of steady foundation at the back.
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:And that's, that's been him, e-
especially I think this decade.
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:Like, if you look just over the past
six seasons in the:
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:uh, about 170 league games for the club,
which is streets ahead of anyone else.
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:Even Gelassie, who would sort of,
uh, have been his cohort at the back
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:there, obviously he missed a lot of
time with injury, and there's been
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:times where Blazevich and Van der Vort
and, and others were ahead of him.
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:So i- it's really been him as the
stalwart at the back, the ever-present,
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:and, and obviously he's had a lot
of different partners beside him.
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:But I think he makes them all better,
uh, just with his, with his cool and,
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:uh, his efficiency and his experience.
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:And I think, um, today I, I couldn't have
been happier for him to be the person
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:who ultimately scored the goal that, that
qualified us for the Champions League.
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:Um, and it's, and it's, it's, it's
notable because when he scores, he
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:doesn't just score simple goals.
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:These are always...
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:Like that, that goal he scored
today, that's a difficult technique.
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:He's, you know, maybe 12 yards from
goal, and he puts it back across,
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:you know, and gives the keeper no
chance into the opposite corner.
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:And it's, it's a tough goal, and
ultimately it's a goal that wins us the
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:game and, and puts the club on a different
financial footing for the future.
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:So I just think today is the day
for Willie to get his flowers.
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:For me, he was the man of the match.
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:Um, I really hope, I know he's 34
now, and there's talk of him moving
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:on, but I really hope he gets, uh,
at least next season, even if it is
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:in a reduced role, and he gets to
lead the team out, uh, as we return
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:to the Champions League next year.
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:But, uh, what a fantastic
day all over, all in all.
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:Um, great to be back at,
at Europe's top table.
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:Justin Crozer: Kenny, you
are absolutely spot on.
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:Kenny makes a fantastic point about
Willy Orban's longevity, noting he
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:has played about 170 league games in
the:
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:calm defensive bedrock for a squad
that sees so much youth and rotation.
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:You gave him your Man of the Match,
and the numbers back you up 100%.
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:Sofascore completely agrees with your
eye test, handing him an outrageous 8.9
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:rating.
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:You can also point out how difficult
that goal actually was, having to
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:head it from around 12 yards out and
put it back across into the opposite
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:corner where the keeper had no chance.
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:That was a phenomenally
difficult technique.
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:In fact, the expected goals probability
on that exact header was just 0.02
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:XG, but he placed it so perfectly
that the expected goals on
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:target jumped up to 0.37.
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:And to your point about him being the calm
bedrock for this team, he had 160 touches
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:and completed 140 of his 146 passes.
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:He completely ran the show from the back.
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:At 34 years old, I'm right
here with you, Kenny.
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:He absolutely needs to be leading
us out on the pitch in the
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:Champions League next season.
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:That wraps up the Fan Voice
segment and officially puts the St.
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:Pauli victory in the books.
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:The Champions League is secured, but
the Bundesliga season isn't over yet.
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:Let's pivot to our final away
trip of the campaign, matchday 34.
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:We are heading to the Europa-Park
Stadion to take on SC Freiburg
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:this Saturday, May 16th.
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:The physical and emotional contrast
between these two squads heading into the
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:final match day is absolutely staggering.
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:We are coming in completely buzzing.
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:We sit comfortably in third place with
sixty-five points, and we have won four
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:of our last five Bundesliga matches.
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:We have our Champions League
ticket secured, and we're
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:playing with the house money.
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:Freiburg, on the other hand, is
walking into a buzzsaw of, of fatigue.
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:They are currently clinging to seventh
place with forty-four points, but they are
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:running an absolute gauntlet right now.
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:They had to pour everything into
th-that massive Europa League
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:semifinal against Braga on May
eighth, securing a three-one win.
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:Having to t-turn right around and play
HSV just two days later clearly took
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:a heavy toll on their legs, resulting
in a frustrating three-two loss.
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:They have also suffered a brutal four-nil
defeat to Dortmund recently, showing just
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:how fragile their defensive structure
can be when they are stretched thin.
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:We have to ruthlessly exploit those
heavy legs because the overall
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:statistical gulf between these
two sides this season is massive.
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:When you look at the season summary,
we have been significantly more
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:dominant in almost every metric.
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:We have scored sixty-five
goals to their forty-seven.
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:We average fifty-three point seven
percent possession and complete four
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:hundred and twenty-six accurate passes a
match, while Freiburg sits at forty-eight
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:point two percent possession and
struggles more with the ball retention.
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:We are also creating an average
three point six big chances per
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:game to their two point one, and
defensively it's not even close.
264
:We have secured eleven clean sheets in
the league compared to Freiburg's six.
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:They have leaked a massive
fifty-six goals this season.
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:If you want to know exactly when
we're going to break them, look
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:at the goal distribution data.
268
:Freiburg is incredibly vulnerable
coming out of the halftime break.
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:They have conceded seventeen
goals between the forty-sixth and
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:sixtieth minute this season, their
absolute worst defensive window.
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:Conservatively, that is the exact
time our offense catches fire.
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:We have scored thirteen goals
in that exact fifteen-minute
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:window right after the half.
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:If it is tight going into the tunnel,
expect us to come out sprinting while
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:they are still trying to find their legs.
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:Finally, history is heavily
on our side for this one.
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:We are currently riding a fourteen-match
unbeaten streak against them.
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:We took them down two-nil back in
January, and we have a habit of
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:dictating the pace right from the
kickoff, scoring first in six of our
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:last eight matchups against them.
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:The blueprint for match
day 34 is crystal clear.
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:Dominate the ball, make them chase
shadows, exploit their heavy legs
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:right after halftime, and close
out the campaign with three points.
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:But to pull off the perfect away
day and exploit those heavy legs, we
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:have to win the battle in the center
of the park, which brings us to our
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:final player watch duel of the season.
287
:The entire game hinges on one specific
matchup in the middle of the pitch.
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:SC Freiburg's breakout wonderkid, Johan
Man Zambi, going head-to-head with our
289
:Austrian workhorse, Nicholas Seiwald.
290
:Man Zambi has been incredible this season.
291
:The 20-year-old Swiss international
has made 26 appearances and
292
:boasts an impressive 7.21
293
:average sofa score rating.
294
:Looking at his attacking output,
he's bagged five goals and
295
:three assists in the league.
296
:But he isn't just a luxury player.
297
:He does the dirty work too, winning 5.4
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:ground duels per game.
299
:He is a fast, dynamic,
and incredibly dangerous.
300
:But here is the catch.
301
:After that brutal Braga and HSV
double, he has to be running on fumes.
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:That is exactly where
Nicholas Seiwald comes in.
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:Seiwald is the absolute
engine of our midfield.
304
:He's been a beacon of availability, making
32 appearances and logging a massive 2,630
305
:minutes in the Bundesliga this season.
306
:He sits deep, completely dictates
the tempo with an 89% pass
307
:accuracy, and disrupts everything
the opposition tries to build.
308
:He averages 3.6
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:balls recovered and 1.8
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:interceptions per game.
311
:His job on Saturday is simple.
312
:Find Man Zambi, man-mark him
into the ground, and exploit
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:those tight Freiburg legs.
314
:If Seiwald can neutralize their young
star and cut off the supply lines,
315
:Freiburg's entire attacking structure will
collapse, and we will be walking away with
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:three points to close out the campaign.
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:Now it's time to turn
the show over to you.
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:We're coming off an incredibly emotional
Champions League clinching victory, and
319
:just watched an absolute maestro play
his final game at the Red Bull Arena.
320
:So here is my question for you
on the Digital Terrace this week.
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:With Xavier Schlager officially
moving on after that fairytale
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:farewell goal, who takes the mantle?
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:Is Nicolas Seiwald ready to be the
undisputed anchor of our midfield next
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:season, or does the front office need to
go out and make a massive summer signing?
325
:And if we do need to bring in
someone, who are you picking and why?
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:I want to know who's at the top
of your transfer target list.
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:Get your voice heard.
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:This podcast is built for RB Leipzig fans
all over the world, and I want your takes.
329
:Drop your thoughts in the Digital Terrace
Discord channel, hit up our social
330
:media pages, or my absolute favorite,
leave an audio message via SpeakPipe.
331
:You've got up to five minutes to
record your thoughts, and the most
332
:insightful takes will get played
right here on the very next episode.
333
:And if you love these tactical deep
dives and wanna help keep RBL Talk
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:running and the server costs covered,
please consider supporting the show.
335
:Check out the show notes for the support
links, the Discord invite, and all the
336
:ways to submit your SpeakPipe audio.
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:That's all for today's extended breakdown.
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:Enjoy the Champions League celebrations.
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:Keep backing the lads, and let's get
ready to exploit a tired SC Freiburg.
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:I've been Justin Crozer, and
until next time, bye-bye for now.