Christoph Baumgartner described his return from a lengthy injury absence as one of the most emotional moments of his career after featuring in RB Leipzig’s 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid.

RB Leipzig left Madrid without any points, but Christoph Baumgartner saw clear signs of progress following the team’s heavy 6-1 defeat against Bayern Munich last weekend.

The midfielder, who returned to action after a lengthy injury lay-off, believed Leipzig had performed significantly better against Real Madrid, despite conceding four goals.

“I think we did a lot of things better than in Munich. We were even the more dangerous team in the first half,” Baumgartner said.

Leipzig struggled to contain Madrid after the break, with goals from Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé putting the Spanish side firmly in control. However, Baumgartner was pleased that his team continued to push forward after falling 3-0 behind, with Christoph Baumgartner’s teammate Tidiam Gomis eventually finding the net.

“Even after going 3-0 down, we never stopped trying to score, and we managed to get a goal. What bothered me about the Bayern game, which I watched on television because I wasn’t involved, was that it felt as though we had simply given up. That wasn’t the case today,” he explained.

Although Leipzig again came away empty-handed, Baumgartner insisted that the performance was a considerable improvement. The match also carried personal significance for the Austrian, who was delighted to return after a difficult period on the sidelines.

“It was an extremely emotional day for me. It was wonderful to play again after such a long injury lay-off. It was the toughest period of my career, even of my life,” he said.

Baumgartner also revealed that missing the World Cup had been particularly painful. Nevertheless, being back on the pitch in such a high-profile fixture made the experience all the more special.

“Missing the World Cup hurts. That makes it even more special to be able to play in a game like this again. I really enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to the coming weeks.”

For Leipzig, the result was another setback in Europe. But Baumgartner’s return and the improved fighting spirit offered some encouragement as the Bundesliga side look to put their difficult run behind them.