Persistent away-day struggles have overshadowed a dominant home form, leaving the under-fire manager to solve a tactical crisis as the international break puts his vision under scrutiny.
The 5-0 victory over Hamburger SV was supposed to give Martin Demichelis some breathing room.
Instead, seven days later, the questions have returned.
RB Leipzig's defeat at Bayer Leverkusen has reopened the debate around a team that still looks capable of producing two very different versions of itself. At home, Leipzig have been forceful and convincing. Away from the Red Bull Arena, the problems have been harder to hide.
The 2-0 defeat at the BayArena was the latest reminder.
Before the match, Demichelis had spoken openly about the need to transfer Leipzig's home confidence onto the road. The defeats at Werder Bremen and Como had exposed weaknesses he knew needed fixing, while the 5-0 win over Hamburg appeared to offer evidence that his players could respond.
Leverkusen tested that theory immediately.
The performance was not a collapse on the scale of the Como defeat, but it offered little evidence that Leipzig had solved the underlying problem. They struggled to impose themselves against a Leverkusen side that increasingly controlled the match, while Patrik Schick once again found a way to punish them.
Now the international break arrives.
For the Red Bulls, the timing could be significant. There will be no immediate Bundesliga fixture to demand another response next weekend. Instead, Demichelis and his staff have a period in which to examine what has gone wrong, work with the players who remain available, and consider how the team should look when competitive football resumes.
That does not necessarily mean a coaching decision is imminent. But the defeat has ensured that the conversation around Demichelis will not disappear simply because the team produced one spectacular result against Hamburg.
The numbers already explain why.
Leipzig have scored eight goals in two home Bundesliga matches and conceded none. Away from home, they have conceded seven in the league and lost their only Bundesliga trip so far. Bundesliga.com had already highlighted the sharp contrast before the Leverkusen match, with Die Roten Bullen also having lost three consecutive away games stretching back to last season.
Demichelis himself has acknowledged the issue rather than attempting to disguise it.
His response to pressure has also been clear. In an interview published before the Leverkusen match, he said criticism is part of working at a major club and that he does not read newspapers or follow what is written online. His focus, he said, remains the same whether Leipzig win or lose.
That approach may now be tested again.
The international break gives the Red Bulls time, but it also gives the club time to assess whether the current direction is convincing enough. The squad has already been weakened by injuries to players including Assan Ouédraogo, Christoph Baumgartner, Rocco Reitz, and Marc Guiu, limiting Demichelis' options.
There is still plenty of football to play.
There is also plenty that can change in two weeks.
For Demichelis, the challenge is to make sure the Hamburg performance becomes part of a pattern rather than an isolated afternoon. For Leipzig, the bigger question is whether they believe the current coach is the man to build that pattern.
The international break offers a pause.
It may also offer the clearest opportunity yet to recalibrate. The question is, will Demichelis stay?
