By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Marcel Sabitzer and Timo Werner might have felt reminded of their secret trips together when leading their team to its most significant continental success.
The 25-year-old Austrian scored two goals to secure the East-German's first last eight participation in the Champions League, his closest friend Timo Werner delivering an assist, with Emil Forsberg scoring the third goal on Tuesday evening.
Beating Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 (4-0 on aggregate), RB's top-scorer Werner turned in a powerful performance along side Sabitzer.
RB Leipzig's match-winners regularly sneak away in their free time, heading to a specific kebab house in the city center to enjoy what is actually banned by the club's nutrition rules. The duo regularly takes liberties by following their desire for fast-food.
Their coach Julian Nagelsmann doesn't seem to mind as long as things work out on the pitch. And, who could deny team is one of the surprises of the 2019-2020 Champions League campaign?
The Champions League rookies finished top of their group with 11 points and are now crashing the party of the usual suspects of European football.
While this season's campaign of the Bundesliga have featured several setbacks in RB's race for the 2020 German title, Sabitzer and Werner are two significant factors of the team's upswing.
Joining the side five and four years ago respectively, both have developed into top international level players.
Werner, Leipzig's fastest player, has 88 goals and 39 assists in 150 games, while Sabitzer turned from an overambitious lone wolf to a true team leader. The Leipzig captain became the first Austrian to score two goals in a Champions League game.
Both Werner and Sabitzer have scored four goals in the 2019-2020 campaign. Football magazine Kicker named the Austrian the Bundesliga's best midfielder ahead of Leverkusen's Kai Havertz and Dortmund's Marco Reus.
"I have learned to not only see my goals. To gain success with a team, you need to develop an empathic view," Sabitzer said, adding: "In the past, it might have been one of my problems to press the right button trying to tease out determination from my teammates."
His former coaches Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhuettl (Southampton) praise his development as much as Nagelsmann does.
"It couldn't have been better," Rangnick underlined while Hasenhuettl said: "Every coach would like to have him in his team because he never disappears in tight games."
Nagelsmann calls Sabitzer "an irresistible ball conqueror" and an "irreplaceable leader." The Austrian has started in 34 of Leipzig's 36 games this season. His most potent weapon, aside from his strong will, is his versatility as he is of value as a 6, 8, and 10.
Under Nagelsmann, it's not only Sabitzer who has managed to take the next step, but Werner too. In the second leg against Tottenham, the Stuttgart-born striker might not have scored (following his winning goal in London) but he opened spaces for his teammates with smart movement up front.
