U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams impresses in debut for RB Leipzig, which runs Fortuna Dusseldorf off its own pitch
As chronicled in this space, it’s been a tough weekend for Americans in the Bundesliga thus far. Tyler Adams changed that on Sunday.
The 19-year-old midfielder made his first start in just his second match since joining cash-flush German club RB Leipzig from New York Red Bulls earlier this month, and he impressed in a 4-0 rout away at Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Adams won the corner that led to the opening goal, a clean-up strike by Yussuf Paulsen in the second minute that set RB Leipzig off and running and indicated just how slipshod Dusseldorf’s performance would be on the day.
Ibrahima Konate scored the second goal just seven minutes later, and Adams played the first ball in the build-up to the third inside of 16 minutes:
Tyler Adams’ Bundesliga debut is going well… Leipzig went up 3-0 inside 16 minutes!!
Poulsen with his 2nd of the game after Adams got involved in the buildup! pic.twitter.com/YgpmkLDK2e
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 27, 2019
Dusseldorf was already listless and dead to rights after that, and Konrad Laimer added the final goal in the 68th minute.
Adams was sound positionally and made runs into dangerous areas all evening. While there were expected moments of miscommunication with his new teammates, he never looked lost and offered the kind of performance that has United States national team fans salivating at his future potential in the middle of the park:
Stats from Tyler Adams’ RB Leipzig debut, via @WhoScored:
68 touches
57 passes attempted
80.7% pass accuracy
3 tackles
3 interceptions
2 fouls received from opponent
2 aerial duels won
2 bad touches
1 foul committed
1 accurate long ball
1 chance created
1 time dispossessed— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) January 27, 2019
He also played the full 90 minutes and showcased moments of flair:
can confirm @tyler_adams14 is fitting in well with @RBLeipzig_EN pic.twitter.com/h6nIBac0d5
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 27, 2019
The win pushed RB Leipzig into fourth in the Bundesliga, the final Champions League spot in the table. Adams was prized by the Red Bull soccer club hierarchy for his versatility and sensibilities beyond his years. He can play deeper and disrupt attacks as a defensive midfielder, and also get forward and help create chances.
Those traits should come in handy as RB Leipzig pushes to return to the Champions League, and maybe pushes for the Bundesliga title in coming seasons.
Joey Gulino is the editor of Yahoo Soccer and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Djokovic blows past Nadal to win record seventh Australian Open
• Warriors hold off Celtics in potential NBA Finals preview
• Iole: Emelianenko’s legecy secure despite one-sided KO vs. Bader
• Sunday marks 19-year anniversary of Patriots hiring Belichick as head coach
