RB Leipzig loses to RC Lens despite Openda goal – red alert!

RB Leipzig loses to RC Lens despite Openda goal – red alert!

On August 10, 2025, RB Leipzig suffered another defeat in a friendly against French club RC Lens. Coach Marco Rose's team lost their second friendly game in a row with 1:2, having previously lost 1:2 to Atalanta Bergamo. This negative series follows clear victories against ZFC Meuselwitz (3:0) and FC Toulouse (7:0), which does not exactly ease the expectations of the Leipzig team with regard to the upcoming season.

In the test match against RC Lens, which was primarily intended as a dress rehearsal, Leipzig played with a significantly changed line-up. While Timo Werner and Amadou Haidara only came off the bench, Xaver Schlager played with a mask despite a broken nose and completed the full 90 minutes. Xavi Simons was also on the pitch as his negotiations with Chelsea stalled. The line-up included Vandevoordt in goal, accompanied by Nedeljkovic, Orban, Lukeba, Raum, Vermeeren, Schlager, Bakayoko, Xavi, Nusa and striker Openda.

Gameplay and highlights

The first half ended goalless, which was not surprising given Leipzig's lack of compelling scoring opportunities. Lois Openda had the best opportunity in the 40th minute, but his shot went wide of the goal. In the second half, Leipzig's defense failed to stop Lens' offense and two goals were scored by Adrien Thomasson and Matthieu Udol in the 59th and 64th minutes respectively. Openda scored the next goal in the 83rd minute, which was also the highlight for Leipzig. Xavi Simons' attempt to equalize in stoppage time was blocked and the score was 1-2 in the end.

The defeat confirms a certain degree of uncertainty in the defense of Leipzig, who now face their first competitive game in the DFB Cup next Saturday against SV Sandhausen at 3:30 p.m. This will be an important test, especially as the Bundesliga season begins with the clash against record champions FC Bayern Munich on August 22nd.

Injuries and transfers

There were a few absences in the squad. Benjamin Sesko, Janis Blaswich, Lukas Klostermann and Andrija Maksimovic are not there due to changes or injuries. The situation is made particularly difficult by the injuries of Benjamin Henrichs, who is in rehab after tearing his Achilles tendon, and Tidiam Gomis, who is suffering from a torn medial ligament in his left ankle. With all these challenges, Leipzig has to show a good hand for the coming games.

The spectators hope that the team will get the ball rolling in the next few matches and can finally leave the performances shown in the DFB Cup and the Bundesliga behind them. The starting position will certainly not be made any easier by the upcoming games.

Further information about RB Leipzig's statistics and performance can be found on the website Kicker be read.