Domenico Tedesco set alarm bells ringing with RB Leipzig club bosses after getting his excuses in early at his Europa League semi-final second leg pre-match press conference at Ibrox, according to a report in Germany.
The Italian was axed by Celtic’s Champions League Group F rivals following their defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk but the beginning of the end started in Glasgow prior to the Bundesliga side’s match against Rangers at the end of last season.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg as they chased Euro glory and with a German Cup final against Freiburg to look forward to - which they later won on penalties - the 36-year-old said that even if they lost everything it would still have been a great season for the club who had never won a major trophy during a meteoric rise to the top. Tedesco’s comments were designed to take the pressure off his players going into their match at Ibrox due to a stuttering run domestically.
But, according to Bild, club bosses including chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff viewed it was a a defeatist attitude. The German side lost 3-1 at Ibrox to miss out on the possibility of an all-German final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bild say in their report that: “RB lost with a poor performance against limited Rangers and missed the leap into the final. A missed opportunity that RB still mourns today.”
Tedesco had been in charge since last December but have won just one of their opening five Bundesliga games this season, suffering defeats on the road to Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt, and the Shakhtar thrashing was the final straw.
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