Leipzig's Painful Lesson: A Heavy Defeat Against Como

Leipzig’s leaders did not bother sugar-coating it. This was a lesson, and a painful one.

“We got a real thrashing”

Captain David Raum cut straight to the bone after Leipzig’s heavy defeat, laying into both the tactical display and the mentality on show. The 28-year-old left-back stood in front of the cameras and stripped the performance bare.

"This feels really awful, we got a real thrashing today," he admitted. "The first half was terrible. The second [half was] maybe a touch better. Overall, it wasn't a good performance from us."

Leipzig had travelled with a clear idea of how they wanted to play. On the pitch, that plan disintegrated.

"We have to learn from this. We need to get together as soon as possible, we actually had a clear plan," Raum said. "But we weren't brave or clever enough with the ball again. We had the chances to play. But it wasn't sharp enough, there just wasn't enough of anything today."

No excuses. No dressing it up. Just a captain acknowledging that his side fell well short of the standard required at the top level.

Orban: “This game hurts a lot”

If Raum’s words were blunt, Willi Orban’s were just as stark. The central defender, one of the team’s most experienced figures, admitted Leipzig never really laid a glove on Cesc Fabregas’s Como side.

The Serie A newcomers, heavily backed since the Djarum Group took over in 2019, looked anything but naive. They controlled the game, dictated the tempo and exposed Leipzig’s flaws.

"We had a reasonable game plan, but it quickly became clear that we couldn't get a grip on Como's game. This game hurts a lot today," the 33-year-old said.

Como, on Fabregas’s league debut in charge, showed the clarity and conviction Leipzig lacked.

"Como showed us what it means to be active with the ball, to make decisions on the ball, and to play good passes in the final third," Orban added. "We need to learn that from our opponents today; credit to them. Ultimately, our game plan didn't work out."

For Leipzig’s senior core, the message was unmistakable: this was not a bad day to be brushed aside and forgotten. It was a warning about where they stand – and how far they still have to climb to match the “elite continental standards” they openly referenced.