After cutting inside onto his right foot and seeing his shot take two deflections on its way into the back of the Eintracht Frankfurt net, Christopher Nkunku reached into his sock and pulled out a red balloon, inflating it with his head tilted back and his arms spread wide.
The Frenchman had first unveiled his unique celebration back in November, when his opening goal against Shakhtar Donetsk set RB Leipzig on their way to qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
“That was for my [two-year-old] son,” he explained afterwards. “He likes balloons”.
This time, Nkunku’s strike had put his team 1-0 up in the German Cup final as they defended their title with a 2-0 win. It was the 25-year-old’s 70th goal in his 172nd competitive appearance for Leipzig – and his last, with news of his move to Chelsea confirmed shortly after.
Bundesliga top scorer
For Nkunku, the cup triumph in Berlin and a big-money move to the Premier League capped a mixed season, one which was twice interrupted by injury but which he also ended with the Bundesliga’s Torjägerkanone – the “striker’s canon”, the Germany equivalent of the Golden Boot.
Two goals on the final day of the season against Schalke – the second in the 94th minute – drew Nkunku level with Werder Bremen striker Niclas Fullkrug, with the two sharing the award.
With 16 goals each, the pair set a record as the top-scorers with the fewest goals in Bundesliga history. By way of comparison, Robert Lewandowski scored 35 in his final season at Bayern Munich, but context is important.
“Winning an individual award is something really special for me because it’s not been an easy season from a personal point of view, from a physical point of view,” Nkunku told local broadcaster MDR after the Schalke match, referring to a knee ligament tear that made him miss five matches in winter and a muscle injury which meant he missed four more in spring.
“The Torjägerkanone is absolutely well deserved,” added Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl. “There were 10 games in which he didn’t even play so, for me, he’s actually the sole winner. He’s gone through an outstanding development here in Leipzig, he’s a fantastic player.”
From creative midfielder to goal threat
Not that Nkunku was always such a prolific goalscorer. Born in Lagny-sur-Marne on the eastern outskirts of Paris, he came through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, where he initially impressed as a creative attacking midfielder, breaking into the first team in 2017.
After following in the footsteps of compatriots Dayot Upamecano, Abdou Diallo and Mohamed Simakan on the increasingly well-trodden route from France to the Red Bull universe in 2019, Nkunku underlined his creative credentials with 15 assists in his first season with Leipzig, setting up chances from every position across midfield.
It was under former Leipzig head coach Domenico Tedesco, now in charge of the Belgian national team, that Nkunku was moved further forward during the 2021/22 season.
He still registered 20 assists across all competitions, but he also scored 35 himself – including the vital equaliser in last season’s German Cup final.
Height no issue
Despite his relatively short stature at 5ft 7in, Nkunku is a physical presence who can also offer a threat in the air, but he is most dangerous on the counter-attack, scoring seven goals from such situations since 2021.
Named Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2022, it was quickly becoming a question of when, and not if, he would depart for pastures new.
“It’s always sad when you lose a player, a mate and such a key performer,” lamented strike partner Yussuf Poulsen this season.
Leipzig mastermind and current Austria national team coach Ralf Rangnick recently also expressed concern about Nkunku going to Chelsea, prior to the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager.
For Rangnick, the former interim Manchester United manager, the experience of his former striker Timo Werner at Stamford Bridge before returning to Leipzig last summer was seen as a warning.
Pochettino and Chelsea will be hoping he’s wrong and that Nkunku will soon be blowing blue balloons in west London.
Matt Ford (@matt_4d) is a freelance journalist specialising in German football, fan culture and sports politics
