"If Robert Lewandowski has no room it'll be difficult for him" - Willi Orban
RB Leipzig captain Willi Orban believes his side are closing the gap to Bayern Munich ahead of Saturday’s meeting between the Bundesliga title hopefuls, and the heartbeat of the league’s most frugal defence has his sights set on stopping Robert Lewandowski as they aim to overhaul the record champions.
Die Roten Bullen's only victory over Bayern to date came at the Red Bull Arena in March 2018, when Naby Keita - now of Liverpool - and Timo Werner, scored in a 2-1 win.
Lewandowski's record against Leipzig is significantly healthier - the Poland captain has been a constant thorn in Leipzig’s side since their promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016, registering six goals and an assist in just seven appearances against the Saxony side.
Watch: Robert Lewandowski - Under the tactical microscope
But Leipzig, who conceded the fewest goals in the league last season, have tightened up even further this term, and once again lead the way with the Bundesliga’s best defensive record, conceding just twice so far under Julian Nagelsmann.
Central to their lean start to the new campaign has been Nagelsmann’s switch to a three-man defence, led by Orban at its core.
And the 26-year-old skipper is now confident he and his teammates can nullify the enormous threat that Lewandowski and Bayern pose.
“You have to try to put Bayern under pressure,” he told German sports daily Kicker. “They've got tremendous game intelligence and many players who can decide a match in an instant. That's been the difference, but we now we have a similar amount of footballing quality.
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“If Robert has no room, it'll be difficult for him too. You have to turn your focus on him because he's a very clever player who holds his own in one-on-ones, draws fouls and takes every chance."
Orban missed out on that aforementioned glory over Bayern 18 months ago and has lost four and drawn one in five matches against the Bavarian giants.
But the Hungary international believes he and Leipzig are ready to end that run and have closed the gap on the perennial Bundesliga champions.
Watch: Julian Nagelsmann brewing a Bundesliga storm
"On the whole, these have been close games, in which we mostly missed out over the smallest details. However, I believe that, step by step, we're getting closer to Bayern in terms of performance. It's time to beat them again. That's our ambition.
"It's still very early in the season, but we're confident enough to say: we want to win the game against Bayern.”
Leipzig, the only team with a perfect record after three wins from three, are firmly in the title race and the campaign’s early pace setters.
As a result, for Orban, his side have everything to gain in the latest edition of the league’s most exciting new rivalry.
"We've got nothing to lose. We're carefree and can show what we've got. We can only win.”
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