Baumgartner Reveals What Inspired Leipzig's Incredible Comeback Against Essen

Christoph Baumgartner has revealed how RB Leipzig refused to give up despite trailing 1-0 and playing with ten men against Rot-Weiss Essen, eventually securing a dramatic 2-1 victory to reach the DFB-Pokal round of 16.

The Austrian forward scored twice in four minutes after coming off the bench, turning a potential cup embarrassment into one of Leipzig's most memorable victories of the season.

Following the match, head coach Martín Demichelis praised his players' mentality, while Antonio Nusa acknowledged the problems that nearly cost Leipzig their place in the competition.

Baumgartner Explains Leipzig's Remarkable Fightback

The Red Bulls entered the second half facing a difficult situation after Ørjan Nyland's early mistake gifted Essen the lead and Nicolas Seiwald received a second yellow card shortly before the interval.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Leipzig gradually took control, with Baumgartner and Nusa making the decisive impact after entering the pitch in the 62nd minute.

The 27-year-old equalised in the 78th minute before completing the turnaround four minutes later, demonstrating the importance of Leipzig's attacking depth.

For Baumgartner, the result also represented an important step towards solving the team's inconsistent away performances.

Die Roten Bullen had previously suffered heavy defeats against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, raising questions about their ability to reproduce their impressive home form on the road.

The Austrian believes the victory in Essen provides evidence that Leipzig can overcome difficult circumstances away from the Red Bull Arena.

Demichelis Praises His Ten Man Heroes

Demichelis was particularly impressed by how his players responded to being reduced to ten men.

The Argentinian coach acknowledged the difficulty of facing an aggressive Essen side in a hostile stadium, but felt his team's second-half performance deserved enormous credit.

His substitutions proved decisive.

Brajan Gruda and Neil El Aynaoui were introduced at half-time, while Baumgartner and Nusa followed shortly after the hour mark.

The changes gave Leipzig greater attacking variety despite their numerical disadvantage, with Nusa's delivery helping Baumgartner score the equaliser.

Demichelis also highlighted the contribution of his substitutes, praising their readiness to influence the match immediately.

Nusa Delivers A Warning Despite Victory

While Baumgartner celebrated his match-winning performance, Nusa was less satisfied with how Leipzig had allowed themselves to fall into such a difficult position.

The Norwegian winger admitted that Essen had executed their game plan effectively, preventing Die Roten Bullen from establishing their usual rhythm during the opening 45 minutes.

He also recognised that the hosts had taken full advantage of Leipzig's mistakes.

His assessment reflects a recurring issue for the away side this season.

At home, Demichelis' team have won all four Bundesliga matches, scoring 18 goals without conceding. Away from home, however, they have struggled to impose themselves with the same consistency.

The victory in Essen showed that Leipzig possess the individual quality and collective determination to overcome adversity, but it also exposed problems that cannot always be solved through late substitutions.

For Baumgartner, meanwhile, the evening was another extraordinary moment in his comeback from a four-and-a-half-month injury absence.

Having already scored against Elversberg on Saturday, the Austrian admitted that his extended appearance in Essen had probably exceeded the original plan for managing his return.

Yet after scoring twice to keep Leipzig's cup ambitions alive, he had little reason to complain.

From here the stage only gets bigger.