Lois Openda started the morning after the 6-0 win against 1. FC Köln as she always does: with a cold shower. He then did breathing exercises before heading to training. In the evening, before going to bed, he took another hot shower.
The RB Leipzig attacker has his fixed rituals, off the field he leaves nothing to chance. Just as little as on the pitch, where he stands out with his targeted runs, clever movement and tracking of spaces and his accuracy. Openda scored two goals in the well-deserved success against Cologne. They were his seventh and eighth goals in the league this season.
The 23-year-old Belgian national player has arrived in the Bundesliga. That’s not a surprise, the values he achieved last season in France for RC Lens were too meaningful: he managed four assists and 21 goals there. Reason enough for the then sports director Max Eberl to bring the young man to Leipzig.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t necessarily expected that Openda would work like this straight away. New city, new country, new language – and following in the footsteps of his predecessor, which could hardly have been bigger. Openda came on as a replacement for Christopher Nkunku, who had scored 70 goals in 172 appearances for Leipzig.
“A very good game from him”
Hardly anyone in the city is talking about Nkunku this fall, just as they are not talking about Dominik Szoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol or Konrad Laimer. The club had lost all of these important regulars before the season. After nine games, Leipzig still maintains close contact with the top, which is also due to the exciting generation of young newcomers, the most accurate representative of which is Openda.
In collaboration with Xavi Simons, another successful summer transfer, the striker took apart the Cologne defense at will, especially before the break. FC coach Steffen Baumgart later admitted contritely that a higher result would have been possible.
Already injured again: Dani Olmo is still suffering from the next injury. : Image: AFP
The goal festival began with a penalty from Timo Werner, then Openda, David Raum and Openda scored again. Xavi Simons provided the assist for both of Openda’s goals. The first one in particular was a specimen copy of their footballing authorship. As usual, Simons played the ball precisely into the depths, Openda recognized the space, sprinted in at top speed and shot the ball into the goal with a force that is only inherent in a self-confident, successful goalscorer.
The attacker received extensive praise from his coach. “Lois was very present, had good depth runs and secured a lot of balls. He was always in good spaces, overall it was a very good game from him,” said Marco Rose, whose joy at the victory was marred by Dani Olmo’s injury.
“That’s really bitter”
The Spaniard, who had been sidelined for a month and a half due to a knee injury and only made his comeback last week, fell on his left shoulder seven minutes after coming on as a substitute and will now have to miss a few weeks again. “Losing the boy here today after not having him for many weeks is really bitter,” said Rose. The RB coach is therefore missing an important offensive option.
But especially in the attack center, Rose is repeatedly faced with difficult personnel decisions. The density of the squad is particularly high there. Timo Werner was allowed to start again against Cologne for many weeks, Benjamin Sesko came on as a substitute and scored straight away. Rose decided against using Yussuf Poulsen due to the tight schedule. This Tuesday (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup and on Sky) we face VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup.
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Despite all the competition, Openda is considered to be at the top, even if coach Rose noted that there were little things in the Belgian’s game that weren’t right recently. Reason enough for the ambitious striker to try harder. Openda is very diligent in training, a model professional with a strong work ethic. He had to work hard for everything in his career; he was never a natural talent like the fleet-footed Xavi Simons.
As a child, it didn’t look like a career in professional sports at all. Openda was diagnosed with asthma early on and the symptoms still accompany him today. He later had to undergo a complicated operation, before which it was not certain whether he would be able to walk without restrictions. Anyone who is exposed to such great resistance so early on often develops enormous assertiveness. The Cologne defenders now also know that.
