Tyler Adams made his debut for RB Leipzig this afternoon in a 4-0 demolition job of Fortuna Düsseldorf. The ex-New York Red Bulls midfielder went the full 90 minutes for his new team. It was a classic Tyler Adams performance.
Leipzig was in full control of the match from the jump. Adams’ rampant movement caught Düsseldorf entirely off guard in the opening 20 minutes. Adams kept Lukebakio in his back pocket for the majority of the match, cutting off the Belgian’s passing lanes and keeping tight to him when he did touch the ball.
On one occasion, Adams intercepted a ball to Lukebakio and sparked a quick counter attack down the left flank with Timo Werner. The final ball from Adams to send Werner through on goal was overhit, but it was a promising play nonetheless.
Adams’ passing, an often underrated aspect of his game, also stood out in this match. Adams attempted to disguise a forward central pass instead of playing it out into the wide space. The pass was intercepted, but the intention and confidence to execute the pass is encouraging to see.
With Leipzig throwing numbers forward in their offensive transition, Adams’ pressing was pivotal to them maintaining their vice grip on Düsseldorf. At times, he overcommitted inclosing down a man and left concerning gaps for the opposition to counter attack into. This was Adams’ most distinguishable flaw in the match but one Düsseldorf failed to expose.
On the day, however, no player completed more tackles (3) than Adams, and the only Leipzig player to complete more recoveries than his 8 was Konrad Laimer with 11. For a player that has not played in a meaningful match since November, that is quite an impressive feat.
Adams and Leipzig will be back in action next Friday against Hannover 96.