El Chadaille Bitshiabu, a defender for Leipzig, missed his team’s Bundesliga match against Augsburg after arriving late for the bus. Leipzig coach Marco Rose explained that the 19-year-old French player was supposed to be in the squad, but he failed to make it on time for the team’s bus to the airport on the morning of the match.
“Chad missed the departure this morning and therefore also the flight,” Rose said. “So, you can’t be there at the end of the day either.”
Although Bitshiabu might have still made it to the game by traveling by bus, Leipzig is about four hours away from Augsburg by road, and the match had a late start.
The young defender, who has played in 11 league matches this season, had a good chance of featuring in the game, especially since team captain Willi Orban was suspended following a red card against St. Pauli the week before, and several other players were sidelined with injuries.
Due to a shortage of players, Leipzig coach Marco Rose had just six outfield players available as substitutes, leaving one spot empty on the bench. Serbian right-back Kosta Nedeljković made his Leipzig debut late in the match.
The 0-0 draw in Augsburg meant that Stuttgart could surpass Leipzig on Saturday if they won at home against Wolfsburg, securing the fourth and final spot for Champions League qualification.