Maxime Esteve has a complicated history with Manchester City — but the RB Leipzig centre-back is desperate to face them again. The 24-year-old French defender, who joined Leipzig from Burnley in the summer, has been an unused substitute in his club's opening two UEFA Champions League group games and admits he would do almost anything to earn his debut in Europe's premier club competition.

"Five years ago, when I was a young kid at Montpellier, I would have killed to be in this situation now, even if sometimes you do not have the playing time that you want," Esteve says. "It was always a dream to play for a Champions League club."

The own-goal chapter he'd rather forget

The reunion with Manchester City carries a sting. Esteve scored two own goals at the Etihad Stadium last season while representing Burnley — a pair of misfortunes he has been careful not to broadcast to his new teammates at Leipzig. "Maybe they don't even know," he jokes.

The statistical quirk that followed was hard to ignore: for much of November last season, Esteve had put more balls into City's net than any Burnley player — trailing only Erling Haaland on the overall scoring chart. "This is a secret. You don't have to say!" he laughs.

His then-manager Scott Parker refused to let the unfortunate double define him. At their Monday debrief, Parker set aside the own goals entirely and walked Esteve through the positive contributions he had made throughout the match. "He told me, 'Max, this is nothing. This is really, really nothing.' Instead, he showed me the good things that I did in the game. Just for the confidence, it was good. It was a bad memory for me at the time, but this is football."

Haaland — the best striker in the world

Ahead of a potential rematch, Esteve did not hesitate when asked to assess Haaland. While acknowledging that Harry Kane has just claimed the Ballon d'Or, he insists no striker on the planet compares to the Manchester City forward. "The best striker I have played against," he says flatly.

"I played just two games against him, but you can see that he is, I think, maybe the best striker in the world. For years, I think he will still be in this position. He is so powerful, so good at heading, so quick. All of the qualities to be a beast."

Containing Haaland is a tactical puzzle that does not resolve neatly. Esteve describes the dilemma of pressing too tightly — leaving yourself exposed to layoffs into tight spaces — against the danger of surrendering ground and inviting those thunderous headers to the back post. "Every time you have to be focused 100 per cent because you know that in one second he can score."

What makes Haaland especially difficult, Esteve explains, is his capacity for adaptation. "He adapts his football against the opponent he is going to play. He did not really touch the ball during the game. He is not that active with the ball. But every time you have to be focused."

Detail-driven defending

Esteve's preparation goes well beyond watching clips of a striker's finishes. He pays close attention to opponents' sprint speeds, using that data to calibrate how high his defensive line should sit. "It helps you for the confidence to say, OK, this guy is running at 36 kilometres per hour or is he running at 34? It is quite important because you might have to manage the line a little bit higher. It is small details."

That forensic approach to the game may owe something to the coaches who have shaped him. At Burnley, he worked under Vincent Kompany — now in charge at Bayern Munich — before moving to Leipzig, where Martin Demichelis, another former Manchester City defender, leads the team. Esteve draws a clear line between the two men's methods.

"We do not play the same football, but in terms of energy, time, work, and professionalism, I am going to say they are quite similar. In terms of meetings, they are really perfectionists. They arrive early and they leave really late."

Settling in at Leipzig

Life in Germany has suited Esteve well. The facilities, the food, and the organisational standards at RB Leipzig have all impressed him, and the culture of punctuality — "They do not accept anyone being late!" — has been easy to embrace. The club's ambition has also raised his own benchmark after a relegation season with Burnley.

"The objective here is to qualify for the Champions League every season," he says. For now, though, his immediate goal is simply to play in the competition. "If I get this opportunity to play, I will be the most happy in the world, to be honest, because you want to realise your dream when you are a kid."

Esteve is patient about his place in the squad, understanding that competition for starting berths increases when the club grows in stature. "When you come to a bigger club, there is more competition in your position and I totally get that. I just have to wait for my time." Against Manchester City, that time may finally arrive — though he will be hoping to keep the ball out of his own net this time around.