German journalists did not pay much attention to the Shakhtar-Leipzig match. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the game itself turned out to be predictable and too simple for the German club. Secondly, no one doubted that Leipzig would beat the Ukrainians and advance to the next round of the Champions League. Thirdly, the future World Cup is being discussed more and more, how safe it is for fans to fly there, what to expect from the tournament and from the German national team in particular. It is not for nothing that even immediately after the victory of "Leipzig", the main topic in the most famous newspapers remains the visit of one of the German ministers to Qatar.
FAZ
"Werner's drive fears overshadow Leipzig's success," Frantfurter Allgemeine reports not on the victory over Shakhtar, but on the fact that Timo Werner was injured ... three weeks before the World Cup. The journalist talks about how this could create difficulties for the German national team, although Leipzig still have three Bundesliga games to play and could also suffer if Werner's injury proves to be serious.
"After the final whistle, Marko Rose hugged his colleague Igor Jovičević for a long time, reassuring him and providing support at such a difficult moment. But Shakhtar was not the only one affected. Already in the 19th minute, Timo Werner left the field, and was replaced by Forsberg. At that moment, "Leipzig" was already winning 1:0 and had a solid game advantage, so the substitution did not particularly affect the course of the meeting.
Werner complained of pain in his leg, which Marco Rose told after the match. But it is still unclear how serious his injury is. The examination will be carried out on Thursday, but the face of the Leipzig coach looked worried. Hansi Flick will also survive. The coach of the German national team will be upset if an important player is injured three weeks before the start of the World Cup.
Another important problem was the scandal with the fans. They spoke on social networks about the fact that the stewards and the police even forced women to undress almost completely, and the guards allowed themselves to touch the private parts of underage fans without any reason. The club has already confirmed this. As a result, fans hung banners upside down in protest. The match was held in Poland."
Kicker
"Werner's injury and the problems of the fans in Warsaw became the main topics of this match," writes the journalist of the popular website Kicker. He talks about how the match itself turned out to be easy for Leipzig. The German club made it through to the next round without any problems, but Werner's injury and the fans' problems, which were very carefully groomed in Poland, left an unpleasant after-game residue.
"Leipzig's victory in the match against Shakhtar was simple and confident. After the goal, there was no doubt that the German club would be able to complete the task and win this match. Thanks to this, Marco Rose's team goes to the playoffs of the Champions League, and the Ukrainians will play in the Europa League. Despite the fact that "Shakhtar" definitely needed to win this match, they had no chance of final success, and the 0:4 defeat suggests that the Ukrainians were not ready for the playoffs of the Champions League, despite the victory over "Leipzig" in the first round.
All this happened thanks to the fact that Marco Rose's team is constantly improving and feels more and more confident even in matches with strong opponents. "Shakhtar" was not ready for such an aggressive game from the first minutes, so they conceded a quick goal. Maybe the Ukrainians were expecting a more careful game from Leipzig, but the fact is that they were never able to recover from the conceded goal.
But the German club was not without negativity. First, the fans of "Leipzig" were subjected to a too intimate examination, which caused their indignation and protest. Secondly, Timo Werner was injured. How serious it is will be known on Thursday."
Spy Sport
"Leipzig broke into the playoffs of the Champions League," the Sky Sport website journalist decided to emphasize the football component of this match. Although he also mentioned the injury of forward Timo Werner in light of the upcoming start of the World Cup in Qatar.
RB Leipzig stormed into the Champions League play-offs with a goal fest, but even after such a convincing victory, there was some worrying news. The guests need to worry about their forward Timo Werner, who had to leave the field in the debut of the meeting due to injury. And this is only three weeks before the World Cup in Qatar.
After three consecutive victories in the group stage (two against Celtic and one against Real Madrid), it was enough for Leipzig not to lose in the final round. But Marco Rose explained after the match that it would be unwise to play for a draw as it is always too dangerous. And in general, a club of the level of "Leipzig" should always play to win.
A quick goal determined the course of the meeting. For a long time, Ukrainians could not understand what had happened. And "Leipzig" did not stop even after Werner's injury. Teammates continued to attack and score goals. The Ukrainians made too many mistakes for a team that needed to win this evening.
"Leipzig" goes to the playoffs of the Champions League, where it will wait for its opponents. "Shakhtar" will play in the Europa League, which can also be considered a success for a team from a country where the war has been going on for so long."
Anton Prokopov
