Nagelsmann slams Leipzig's 'student team' defending and Bundesliga schedule
Julian Nagelsmann blasted RB Leipzig for their early defensive efforts against Hertha Berlin before taking aim at the DFL for their "really s****y" Bundesliga scheduling.
Leipzig missed the chance to climb to second in the table and saw their slim title hopes reduced further in a 2-2 home draw against Hertha.
The Champions League quarter-finalists trailed early to Marko Grujic's close-range volley, and Nagelsmann fumed at the lax marking from a corner.
"I'm not at all satisfied. We have to ascribe this to ourselves," he said. "We simply have to learn so that we are not constantly lagging behind.
"In the beginning, we defended like a student team. The frustration is deep."
Leipzig still had the opportunity to take all three points as they hit back through first Lukas Klostermann and then, after an awful Rune Jarstein error, Patrik Schick.
An earlier red card for Marcel Halstenberg meant the third-placed side had their backs against the wall, though, and they could not cling on.
Krzysztof Piatek netted an 82nd-minute penalty and Hertha threatened a winner, remaining unbeaten under April appointment Bruno Labbadia.
Lukas #Klostermann:
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) May 27, 2020
“Of course we had hoped for more, and that there would have been more in it. However, we didn’t play like we had prepared. But we did well with ten men, and didn’t let them have many chances.”#RBLBSC pic.twitter.com/nUhM7sP6f1
And Nagelsmann suggested it was to be expected Leipzig would struggle, having played Mainz on Sunday, two days after Hertha's Berlin derby win.
"It was difficult to get into the game, which is normal; for us, it was the first 'English week' for months," he said.
"It wasn't an 'English week' for Hertha. They had a four-day break. I don't understand how the game is scheduled. Hertha play on Friday, we on Sunday and have our game on Wednesday.
"It is again the case that we get a really s****y game plan. That was addressed at the DFL meeting, but nobody is interested."
Labbadia was rather happier despite Hertha's failure to beat 10 men.
"The team played a really good game – above all, with the reaction after we went 2-1 down out of nowhere," he said. "Coming back was great.
"Usually that's the blow to the neck. But we showed a great reaction and more than deserved the point."