Lukas Klostermann admits it will hurt to see Julian Nagelsmann and Dayot Upamecano leave RB Leipzig for Bayern Munich – but he hopes they can depart after one last "beautiful moment".
Leipzig look set to finish second in the Bundesliga, given they lead Wolfsburg by four points with two rounds to go, and trophy glory could come on Thursday when they tackle Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final.
A dress rehearsal in the league on Saturday saw Dortmund snatch a 3-2 victory that boosts their hopes of playing in next season's Champions League, but the cup final showdown in Berlin is a tough game to pick.
Coach Nagelsmann and star centre-back Upamecano are both heading for Bayern at the end of the season, so the game represents their final chance of snatching major silverware with Leipzig, a club that was established only 12 years ago and has come a long way since.
Right-back Klostermann, who will hope to be involved for Germany at Euro 2020, is preparing for reluctant farewells to Nagelsmann and Upamecano.
"Of course I am not that happy about it, that’s for sure," Klostermann told Stats Perform News.
"But I think the coach already told from the beginning that on a long-term perspective it would be his greatest wish to become coach of FC Bayern. But still, I would have wished that it happened a bit later than now. But if it's his big goal and dream, then I cannot be angry or annoyed because of him leaving.
"I think we showed in the past already a couple of times that we can compensate losses, just like how it was with Timo Werner. Some people said that we will fall into a deep hole but I think that was not the case."
Werner was a big-money acquisition by Chelsea last June, but Leipzig have pressed on without the Germany forward.
They will doubtless be strong next season too, but to keep losing major talents, whether from the playing or coaching ranks, cannot be conducive to building a team to challenge for the Bundesliga.
"For the club it would be good on a middle-term or long-term perspective to develop more and more, so the players don't need another club in Europe to play for the elite," Klostermann said. "We should achieve that ourselves, to be part of the elite. I know it's a long way to go, but I think this should be the long-term goal."
The 24-year-old Klostermann scored in the weekend loss to Dortmund, grabbing his first goal of the season, but said Leipzig "only played really well in the second half" of that game. It was tight in terms of the xG (expected goals) count, with Dortmund leading that by 1.7 to 1.5, enjoying the better chances despite Leipzig ending the game 8-4 ahead in terms of shots on target.
"I think that both teams will take the first game as a basis to analyse in order to change a couple of things in the final," he said. "That's why I think that the first game has an influence on the final. It's not that huge, as the game starts at 0-0 again, but the teams will analyse it and change certain things for the final."
Klostermann said it would "be incredibly important and great to finally win a title", adding: "For all of us it would be an extremely beautiful moment.
"Maybe even a bit more special for players and employees that have been part of the club for a longer time. Five, six, or seven years ago nobody believed that we could achieve that. Therefore, it's even nicer to have this chance to win a title. And for that, we better give everything on Thursday."
It remains to be seen whether Erling Haaland is fit to lead the Dortmund attack, after missing the weekend game with a muscle issue.
In the Bundesliga alone, Haaland has scored 25 goals in 26 games this season, with a shot conversion rate of 28.1 percent – among those to have netted more than five this term, only Max Kruse (37 percent) and Robert Lewandowski (32.5 percent) have put away a greater portion of their chances than the 20-year-old.
Should the Norwegian feature, Klostermann has no doubt about his threat, rating him in the top bracket of strikers.
"When you see how he plays right now, then for sure," Klostermann said.
"I think his numbers are showing that. If he plays, it will not be easier for us. But I am still very convinced that we can play better than we did last Saturday. Even if he plays, I give us good chances to win this final."
'One game at a time', says calm Slot after Leverkusen thrashing
Arne Slot insisted he will continue to look at "one game at a time" after leading Liverpool to a 4-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Luis Diaz's second-half hat-trick along with Cody Gakpo's 63rd-minute strike spoiled Xabi Alonso's Anfield return, moving the Reds top of the 36-team standings.
Liverpool have now won all four of their Champions League games under Slot. It’s only the second time that they have won all four opening games in a single season.
The Reds are now top of both the Premier League and Champions League, though Slot was keen to focus on the next task, which comes in the shape of Aston Villa on Saturday.
"I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity, but we took more risk," Slot said.
"They overloaded the midfield a lot, and we adjusted at half-time and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat.
"As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster.
"Curtis Jones did an incredible pass, and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal, in my opinion.
"You don't look ahead as a manager in the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game."
Diaz's treble saw him become only the second Colombian player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle against Barcelona in 1997.
And he insisted that things have started brightly for Slot at Anfield, but said his team-mates must continue to perform to have something to show for it at the end of the season.
"The most important thing is the three points in this edition of the Champions League so we can keep progressing in the competition," Diaz said.
"Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn't easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp's shoes.
"Hopefully, we'll have something to show for it at the end of the season.
"We have top-quality players all over the pitch and I really enjoyed playing in that position today. I'm just happy to be on the pitch.
"I need to go and find that ball now because I need to keep it somewhere special at home."
For Alonso and Leverkusen, meanwhile, it marked a first Champions League defeat since 2022, while also conceding four or more goals in an away match in the competition since 2013 against Manchester United.
"It's painful the result more than the performance, probably," Alonso told Amazon Prime.
"But this is the Champions League, this is the highest level, and today it wasn't enough for us."
"It's too early to tell, but I can see that Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team.
"They work with 11 players, and they have the power to hold a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League.
"In the Premier League, let's see. It's early to tell but it's looking good."
Alonso, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, was serenaded by the home supporters at Anfield during the contest.
"I tried to separate the game and the pain from the result from the nice feelings to come back. I'm really happy and thankful for that reception," he added.
Bologna 0-1 Monaco: Kehrer maintains visitors' impressive Champions League start
Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer scored a late goal to earn a 1-0 Champions League victory for his side at Bologna on Tuesday.
Monaco captain Kehrer, left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flicked-on corner to snatch the points.
The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while also dealing Bologna their first-ever home defeat in European competition.
Both sides saw goals chalked off in the first half, Monaco's Wilfried Singo being penalised for a foul on Lukasz Skorupski before Santiago Castro saw a curling strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
The two Polish goakeepers, Monaco's Radoslaw Majecki and Bologna's Skorupski, both made several fine saves to keep the game goalless until Kehrer got the all-important touch on an inswinging corner late on.
The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.
Data Debrief: Long-awaited shutout for Monaco
Monaco have now won consecutive games in the Champions League for the first time since a run of three in 2017, also ending a 23-game run without a clean sheet in the competition.
Bologna, meanwhile, are the only side in this season's Champions League to play four matches and fail to score, despite registering 48 shots in total and an xG tally of 3.19.
Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form
Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.
The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.
The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.
But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.
The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.
At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.
The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.
It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.
That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.
QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.
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