Finally sealing the permanent signing of Xavi Simons this week for a fee that could rise to €80m (£66m) underlined the aims but what might have escaped the notice in recent days, especially among the merry chaos of the last night of the Champions League group stage, is that Leipzig ended their miserable European campaign by going down by a single goal at Sturm Graz (“a disgrace” was how Bild described it), in one of the dead rubbers.
The former Schalke man Steven Skrzybski’s brace came too late to put Bayern in genuine danger of seeing their six-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen diminished but irritated Kompany and made clear that their poise could be affected by the upcoming involvement in the Champions League playoff with Celtic, the two legs either side of the crucial visit to the reigning champions in the league.
The extra time on the training field afforded to Leipzig in the coming weeks by that shambolic Champions League group stage – more time to plan than Bayern, Leverkusen of Dortmund will be able to count on, for example – means ironing out the creases in their game is an obligation rather than a preference.
Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich 4-3 Holstein Kiel, Bochum 0-1 Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Wolfsburg, Heidenheim 1-2 Borussia Dortmund, St Pauli 1-1 Augsburg, Stuttgart 1-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach, Union Berlin 0-0 RB Leipzig, Werder Bremen 1-0 Mainz.
Rose faces thorny spell at Leipzig as Berlin blank follows European exit | Andy Brassell Champions League return is far from secure for a side that was fortunate to escape Union match with a point.
