As in the first leg, Bayer Leverkusen beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in a game that resembled a rollercoaster ride thanks to a late goal to consolidate their top spot
Leipzig coach Marco Rose responded to the 1-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt with three changes: Lukeba and Seiwald started, as did Dani Olmo, who made his starting eleven comeback following a shoulder ankle injury. Henrichs, Kampl and Baumgartner found themselves on the bench.
Bayer coach Xabi Alonso had initially rested Tah and Wirtz in the last-minute win in Augsburg, but now the Spaniard brought the duo back into the starting line-up in place of Andrich and Hlozek (both bench).
One thing up front: anyone hoping for a top match was certainly not disappointed, especially in the first half. RB and Bayer delivered a thrilling duel with plenty of pace, intense duels and plenty of finishing. Leipzig, in particular, played a great game in the first half hour
Early feat from Xavi
The Rose eleven attacked very early on, played at an enormous pace and gained clear advantages in this way. The home side also took an early lead in the seventh minute – and it was particularly impressive: Schlager’s pass was taken on the right by Xavi, who had his back to goal, who then juggled the ball upwards with a quick touch and finished with a left-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner – a goal of the month.
Bayer seemed impressed, were overrun in phases and could be glad that the Saxons did not add to their tally in bitterly cold Leipzig. Hradecky was called upon several times (21st, 22nd, 25th, 29th). Xabi Alonso could not have liked what he saw. In addition, Frimpong had to be substituted for Tella early on due to injury (31).
After that, however, the picture on the pitch changed. RB no longer played at such a high tempo and relied a little more on counter-attacking, while Bayer increasingly stabilized and also exuded more goal threat. However, the Rhinelanders were not really compelling and lacked the necessary precision in the final third
Bayer and the corners
The second period then began to the liking of the Werkself, who broke through down the left-hand side after just a few seconds and then equalized 1:1 through Tella (47′). The goal instilled confidence in the visitors, who now also benefited from the fact that RB were no longer able to press as high as they had done in the early stages.
Wirtz even had a sniff at the lead with his shot, but failed to beat Blaswich, who cleared for a corner (55′). But then Leverkusen literally invited RB to score with a poorly taken short corner – and they accepted the invitation: Xavi intercepted the sloppy Hofmann ball and sent Dani Olmo down the right, who in turn had the eye for Openda – 2:1 (56′).
Leipzig were back in front, but not for long, as the disastrous corner was followed by a perfect corner from Bayer’s point of view: Hofmann cut the ball from the left to Tah at the second post, who rose high and headed in perfectly to make it 2:2 (63′).
Everything was open again – and it stayed that way until the final whistle. Although the Werkself had more of the play, especially towards the end, and the more dangerous moves through Grimaldo (70) and Hofmann (82), it seemed as if the score should remain 2-2. But that was not the case, as a last-minute corner from Grimaldo to Hincapie gave the Werkself a much-celebrated last-minute victory (90.+1).
RB Leipzig await their next top-of-the-table clash next Saturday, when they face VfB Stuttgart at 3.30pm. Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who are now unbeaten in 27 competitive matches, will host Borussia Mönchengladbach in the evening’s top match (18:30).
