RB captain Kampl praises Werner after game-winning goal: "He needed that."
Dropped from the Leipzig starting XI and no longer part of the conversation as pertains to the German national team, Timo Werner was finally able to score his first goal for the club he once excelled for since April on Saturday afternoon.
Werner's long-time teammate and friend Kevin Kampl lauded the breakthrough when speaking to the Sky mics after the full-time-whistle.
Newly appointed Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann might be compelled to take another look at the striker who once excelled under his command whilst coaching Leipzig during the 2019/20 campaign if the 27-year-old can parlay his recent goal into a form run. It has been, by all accounts, a nightmare year for the one-time record Chelsea transfer. After an ankle injury forced him to miss the World Cup, a prolonged form slump led to him being dropped from both the Leipzig starting XI and the German national team.
Werner's long-time teammate and friend Kevin Kampl lauded the breakthrough when speaking to the Sky mics after the full-time-whistle.
The Stuttgart-native nevertheless managed to make the greatest of impacts off the bench on Saturday. Werner scored the game-winning goal in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. RB head-coach Marco Rose made clear that he appreciated the contribution, though the Leipzig gaffer remained far off from the sort of confident tones he once used when backing his former starter. Rose merely dryly congratulated Werner and expressed the hope that "he can keep it up."
Werner's teammate and friend Kevin Kampl - sporting the captain's armband on Saturday in place of the injured Willi Orban - went further in endorsing his colleague and friend. The 32-year-old Slovenian noted that - with a Pokal fixture coming up next week, a clash against Bayern next weekend, and Manchester City in the Champions' League the week after next - Werner's qualities were both needed and appreciated.
"I'm extremely happy for Timo," Kampl told his post-match-interviewer, "It hasn't been easy for him the past few weeks. We get on very well and are very close. The lad needs that. We're a close team. It's important for us as a team. We rely on Timo qualities because Timo has qualities that not everyone has."