RB Leipzig 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Axel Witsel scored only his second goal of the season, but it was enough for Borussia Dortmund to earn a hard-fought win over a spirited RB Leipzig side and protect their six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
After Bayern Munich made a winning start to their 2019 season—beating Hoffenheim earlier in the gameweek by a 1-3 scoreline—the pressure turned to BVB. The league leaders saw their lead cut down to three points, leaving them with no other option but to aim for the victory and avoid what would have been a huge collapse.
It wasn’t easy for Lucien Favre’s men though, especially with Leipzig having more attempts on goal. Fortunately, they responded well to the challenge and held their ground to survive and frustrate the luckless Red Bulls.
Highlights of the game
BVB were already expected to come out on top in this encounter. The Bundesliga 2019 odds at SBOBET had them winning comfortably, thanks in large part to their 4-1 victory against Leipzig at the Signal Iduna Park earlier in the season.
However, BVB were dealt a massive blow just hours before the game. The team confirmed that in-form skipper Marco Reus is out of the match due to a ligament injury he suffered during training.
That gave Dortmund a weak link, and Leipzig wasted no time in taking advantage of that right from the opening period.
In fact, in the opening 10 minutes, Leipzig took multiple corners and a free kick in a dangerous position. In the ninth minute of the match, Dortmund keeper Roman Burki was even forced to a save after Kevin Kampl fired from distance.
Dortmund, nonetheless, regrouped quickly, found their rhythm and started dominating possession. And just a few moments later, they were able to break the deadlock behind Witsel.
Witsel fired at the far post in the 19th minute after teammate Lukasz Piszczek headed the ball to his direction. Piszczek deflected the ball off a corner and Witsel, who was waiting six yards away from the goal, controlled it beautifully and hammered it to the crossbar down.
Leipzig were unfortunate not to score, with Timo Werner consistently threatening. Their lack of luck was more evident in the second half when they controlled proceedings but still ended up goalless.
Dortmund had Burki to thank for a string of saves, particularly in the payoff period. The Swiss keeper denied Marcel Sabitzer twice in the second half, including an epic 75th-minute save when the Austrian was alone in front of the goal.
Two minutes later, Werner had a glorious chance to equalise, but to no avail. With the 22-year-old German set on goal on the right wing, Burki stayed focused and made a brilliant save at his near post.
BVB super-sub and top-scorer Paco Alcacer came onto the field with 21 minutes left to play, and he came close to finding the back of the net in the final stages. However, his effort from a Christian Pulisic through ball hit the crossbar.
Key statistics
Truth be told, the fight could have gone both ways. The two had nearly identical post-game statistics, and Leipzig would feel more frustrated given that they wasted plenty of opportunities to create a huge advantage.
Dortmund had 53 percent possession but ended up with only eight attempts on goal, four of which are on target. On the other hand, Leipzig had 12 shot attempts, including five on-target efforts.
In the end, Witsel’s second goal of the campaign made the difference. Interestingly, his first goal this 2018-19 season also came against Leipzig in their August meeting.
Here are other key numbers in the game:
- It was Leipzig’s first home defeat of the Bundesliga season. The loss also snapped a four-game winning streak at home. They now have a record of seven wins, two draws and one defeat at Red Bull Arena.
- This was the first game that Reus missed this 2018-19 season. According to the latest Bundesliga 2019 news though, his injury is not serious.
- Leipzig previously had the league’s best defence with 17 goals conceded. Allowing one against Dortmund put them at 18, level with BVB and Borussia Monchengladbach.
What’s next?
The Bundesliga is back to regular programming, and with no other domestic and European competitions scheduled, both Dortmund and Leipzig have only one game each this week.
BVB next face Hannover 96, one of only three teams to play out a draw with them. They met last September, during which they played out a goalless draw.
Meanwhile, Leipzig play Fortuna Dusseldorf. The Red Bulls thrashed the newly-promoted club 1-3 in their first game this year.
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