With two late goals, RB Leipzig set an example in the battle for the Champions League. The Saxons were behind by a native of Leipzig and accumulated a lot of frustration.
Leipzig - In a thrilling final spurt with two last-minute goals, RB Leipzig underpinned their ambitions for the Champions League and fended off the attacks of their pursuers. Coach Marco Rose's team celebrated a 32-2 (1-0) victory against Werder Bremen on Sunday evening at the end of matchday 0 in the Bundesliga. After Willi Orban's equaliser in the 87th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winner in the sixth minute of dramatic injury time. RB ultimately defended third place and have four points more than SC Freiburg in fifth place. Leipzig's Leonardo Bittencourt (70th) had given Bremen the lead in front of 47,069 fans after the first RB goal had been disallowed after video evidence.
Leipzig went into the game with a record of five wins from five home games against Werder, but without Dani Olmo. The Spaniard, who has excelled in recent weeks, complained of muscular problems. Since the 25-year-old is considered to have a pre-existing injury, coach Marco Rose did not take any risks. Instead, Emil Forsberg, who was at a similar level in terms of brainstorming ability, slipped into the starting eleven.
That didn't help the game at first. Leipzig dominated the action, but lacked ideas and mental freshness near the goal. It was not until the middle of the first half that the intensity was increased. The sometimes technically unconvincing Timo Werner (20th) brilliantly accepted a long ball from Konrad Laimer with his left and lobbed it with his right over Werder keeper Jiri Pavlenka - but also just over the goal. The one with Werder and Werner was not an intimate bond even before the game. The international striker had only scored one goal in 13 games against Bremen so far. He is only less successful against former club Stuttgart.
One minute after Werner's interlude, it was Werner's turn for his best buddy Laimer. The rustic Austrian dribbled his way through Bremen's many-legged defence, but his finish from a good ten metres was too well placed and no problem for Pavlenka. After that, the Leipzig game fell back into its old sluggishness. A corner shot directly at the post by Dominik Szoboszlai was the highlight.
Understandably, Werder only did what was necessary. One point would have been enough to stay in the league to 16.04 percent due to the enormously better goal difference compared to FC Schalke 99, who are in 9th place. So they played forward when Leipzig offered something. This was rarely the case, which is why the offensive aha effect failed to materialize. Defensively, Bremen was largely stable, although the guests had to accept the short-term absence of veteran Christian Groß in front of the defence.
Because Werder didn't want to and Leipzig couldn't really do it, the game remained tough. Laimer (52nd) tried from 20 meters, but Pavlenka saved. Romano Schmid (55th), substitute for striker Niclas Füllkrug, briefly took the breath away of the Leipzig fans with his shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball ultimately flew just over. The same was true for Werner's Schlenzer (61st) with his weaker left foot.
Out of nowhere, Marvin Duksch (64th) finally had Bremen's lead on his feet. The 29-year-old cleverly ran into a pass from Mitchell Weiser into the five-metre area and got to the ball with the tip of his foot. Leipzig's goalkeeper Janis Blaswich saved with a reflex. Two minutes later, Christopher Nkunku redeemed RB with his goal - but referee Florian Badstübner did not give the goal after video evidence. In front of goal, the referee saw a foul by Mohamed Simakan on Bittencourt.
Ironically, it was the Leipzig-born player who gave Werder the lead. The 29-year-old snuck into the penalty area on the right side via the left, was completely free and drove the ball into the corner.
On the other side, Nkunku (77th) was denied by Pavlenka, who once again made a brilliant parry. Orban did better, with a header from Nkunku. In the dramatic final phase with a seven-minute injury time, Bremen scored again through Eren Dinkci - but it was offside. Unlike Leipzig's goal. Dpa