Leipzig took on Dortmund on a cold evening at the Red Bull Arena in Germany. We have the player ratings.
Two Bundesliga giants faced each other this Saturday night as they both tried to reduce the gap between them and Bayern Munich. The first half didn’t offer much excitement as the clubs went to the locker room with a goalless draw. Leipzig looked a bit more dangerous with three-goal attempts, although Burki never really seemed bothered.
The most important moment of the first 45 minutes came when Axel Witsel slipped and immediately went down on his own. The midfielder looked in severe pain as he clutched his left ankle. In fact, Witsel had to be helped off the field since he couldn’t walk on his own.
On came Emre Can, who proved himself to be the perfect substitute. The former Juventus man looked quite active in midfield, providing key passes and tackles for the team.
Dortmund’s perfect second half.
In the second half, Dortmund’s performance improved as Leipzig struggled to reach the final third of the pitch. Naturally, the match’s winners came down to two youngsters. After all, it was Leipzig and Dortmund on the pitch. Jadon Sancho broke the tie around the 55th-minute mark, scoring on his third match in a row. It was a great team effort from Dortmund, as Haaland ran down the wing and passed the ball to Marco Reus, who assisted Sancho’s cool finish with a backheel pass.
Fans had to wait 15 more minutes to see Haaland return to his goal scoring habits. Another great team effort from the Yellow and Blacks as the Norwegian put three defenders behind him and finished the play with a clean header. Leipzig’s defense were left stunned with their opponents’ quick counter play.
However, Bundesliga’s second top-scorer wasn’t done yet. Haaland once again proved that his recent injury didn’t slow him down at all. The striker patiently waited for Reus’s second match assist and quickly ran past the goalkeeper to finish his brace.
RB Leipzig managed to score a consolation goal.
The best Leipzig could do was reduce Dortmund’s lead close to the end of the game. Substitute Sorloth refused to end the game without netting the goal. The 25-year-old striker took advantage of Angelino’s wonderful cross and put one past Burki on his second attempt.
Borussia Dortmund were the clear match winners as Leipzig failed to dethrone Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga’s top position. On the other hand, BVB are now in fourth place, only five points behind the current champions.
Player ratings
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi (5), Orban (5), Upamecano (6), Halstenberg (5), Adams (5), Haidara (6), Sabitzer (5), Angelino (6), Olmo (6), Forsberg (5), Poulsen (5).
Bench: Sorloth (7), Klostermann (5), Hee-Chan (5), Samardzic (5).
Borussia Dortmund: Burki (6), Meunier (7), Akanji (6), Hummels (6), Guerreiro (6), Witsel (5), Delaney (5), Reyna (6), Reus (8), Sancho (8), Haaland (9).
Bench: Emre Can (8), Zagadou (5), Brandt (5), Tigges (5).
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