2023 year in review at RBL

admin 23 December 2023, 19:16 yayınlandı

2023 was a year of titles, new records and plenty of emotional moments!

RB Leipzig have several highlights to look back on from the last 12 months, as well as some interesting statistics.

Join us in taking a look back on the year that was.

Marco Rose’s side started the year unbeaten in their last 13 matches.
The team went on to add to this impressive run, going undefeated in 18 straight competitive matches from 1st October 2022 to 4th February 2023.

This timeframe includes the memorable 3-2 home win against Real Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League, as well as our triumphant DFB-Pokal quarterfinal clash with Borussia Dortmund. Our run only came to an end with a 2-1 defeat against Union Berlin in a close encounter at the Red Bull Arena.
The RBL women also got off to a strong start this year, winning all five of their first five competitive matches to put them second in the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga.

Christopher Nkunku scored 16 goals in 2022/23, on his way to finishing as the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer (tied with Niclas Füllkrug).
Christo needed just 25 Bundesliga games to win the award.
Vanessa Fudalla netted 20 goals in 19 second-division games, and was crowned the top goalscorer in the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga in 2022/23.

RB Leipzig’s eSports team, RBLZ Gaming, secured several titles in 2023. In addition to winning the Virtual Bundesliga and the ePokal, Umut Gültekin and Anders Vejrgang helped the team complete their treble by lifting the Club World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in July.

2023 marked the year that our U19s reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Youth League for the first time. The team have been drawn against Danishside FC Midtjylland in the play-offs in early February 2024.

The RBL women enjoyed a nearly perfect campaign in 2022/23. Head coach Saban Uzun’s side finished top of the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, 12 points ahead of second-placed 1. FC Nürnberg, and successfully won promotion to the Bundesliga.
RBL served for several upsets in the Frauen DFB-Pokal as well, making it all the way to the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by SC Freiburg.

The 2022/23 season ended with RBL successfully defending their DFB-Pokal title in Berlin. Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai scored in a 2-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt to help RBL lift the trophy for the second straight season.
Over 30,000 fans welcomed the team back to Leipzig and celebrated the title win with the team.

Academy player Winners Osawe had a fantastic year with the Germany U17s. He celebrated winning the U17 European championship with the team over the summer, before lifting the U17 World Cup in Indonesia in December.
The team triumphed on penalties against France in the final on both occasions.

RB Leipzig and Marco Rose: the perfect fit! The Leipzig native took charge of the team on 8th September 2022 and has the best points-per-game average of any RBL head coach in the Bundesliga (66 games, 2.12 points per game).
Rose helped guide the team to their second straight DFB-Pokal title, before extending his contract at the club until 2025.

Umut Gültekin was voted Germany’s eSports player of the year for the fourth straight time in 2023.

RB Leipzig also had to say farewell to long-time players such as Emil Forsberg, Marcel Halstenberg and Konrad Laimer this year. Key players like Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Josko Gvardiol also departed the club for new adventures elsewhere.
Despite these departures, RBL still managed to put in a great first half of the 2023/24 season, sitting in fourth place in the Bundesliga at Christmas and having been drawn against Real Madrid in the round of 16 in the Champions League.

The Red Bull Arena welcomed over 20,000 fans for a festive night of Christmas carols on the second Sunday of Advent, together with choirs from Leipzig’s Gewandhaus.
It was one of several exciting and memorable events hosted by the club this past year.