RB Leipzig are showing signs of stabilisation after a turbulent stretch, but the pressure on Martin Demichelis has not lifted. A narrow 2-1 win over third-division Rot-Weiss Essen in the DFB-Pokal followed a 4-0 home victory against Elversberg in the Bundesliga, giving the club back-to-back wins for the first time in weeks. Those results offer some relief after a brutal run that included a 6-1 thrashing by Bayern Munich and a 4-1 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The Bayern result in particular exposed deep problems. Lothar Matthäus was openly critical of Demichelis, questioning both his tactical decisions and his ability to communicate clearly with a multilingual squad. Leipzig's sporting director Marcel Schäfer described the performance as "a complete failure in every area." Those words have lingered, and speculation about Demichelis's future has not gone away despite the recent wins.

On the table, Leipzig sit fifth with 12 points from seven Bundesliga games, one point behind Bayer Leverkusen in fourth. The squad retains enough quality to push for European places, but the inconsistency that has defined this season remains a concern. A trip to Schalke on October 31 is next in the league, a fixture Leipzig will be expected to win but cannot afford to take lightly given the fragile confidence still surrounding the group.