RB Leipzig's Marco Rose brushes off last season's thrashing to Man City as 'old news'

Erling Haaland scored five when the teams met in a one-sided Champions League last-16 encounter at the Etihad Stadium in March.

It completed an 8-1 aggregate success for the Premier League outfit en route to their treble-clinching success in the competition.

The Germans now face the tough task of trying to contain Pep Guardiola's side once again as they clash in a Group G encounter on Wednesday.

Yet Rose has consigned that previous meeting to history and is buoyed by Leipzig's current form going into the game at the RB Arena.

"The 7-0 loss away from home is old news for us," he told reporters at a press conference. "We know that we played well (in the) home (leg) last season, even though we were made to battle and come back from a goal down.

"We know what to expect on Wednesday. You need a bit of luck, as well as a good performance, to beat teams like City but we have faith that we can get a win at home with the fans behind us.

"We want to bring the energy we need to have into the game and use the opportunity to test ourselves against this opposition. It's a new season and we've made a good start to it."

Leipzig are fifth in the Bundesliga, three points behind early leaders Bayer Leverkusen, and drew 2-2 against champions Bayern Munich on Saturday.

They have lost just once this term and opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win at Young Boys a fortnight ago.

Wednesday's game will see them come up against their former defender Josko Gvardiol, who joined City in a £77million deal in the summer.

The Croatia international, who scored Leipzig's goal in last season's tie against City, has made a solid start with his new club.

Rose said: "It doesn't surprise me that Josko – with his skill, his ability to learn and his humility – has had no teething problems at Man City.

"He's doing very well there. We're looking forward to seeing him again because he's not only a great player, but also an outstanding person."

 

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