Leverkusen. The important question before kick-off was: How many grains would RB Leipzig the 2-0 win in Bergamo have tasted from Thursday evening? That appearances in the Europa League not remain without consequences for the form in the next Bundesliga game already had late Sunday followingnoon Eintracht Frankfurt get to feel. The Eagles conceded one following their acclaimed triumph in Barcelona 0: 2 bankruptcy at Union Berlin. And the Saxons? They were third in the table Bayer Leverkusen guest, had to work hard for a long time – and finally won 1-0 (0-0), conquered third place in the table from their hosts.
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RB coach Domenico Tedesco rotated following Semi-final entry at Atalanta strong – the load control said hello – changed seven times. Among other things, scorer received Christopher Nkunku a breather for the first time since the end of February. At that time he came into the game late in Bochum and scored the winning goal to make it 1-0. Amadou Haidara (knees) and Kevin Kampl were not in the squad. Bayer coach Gerardo Seoane made two changes. Paulinho and Kerem Demirbay were replaced by Exequiel Palacios and Mitchel Bakker. Despite a bruised rib, Jonathan Tah was on the pitch from the start
NOW click through: The pictures of the 1-0 win in Leverkusen
That was a very important step towards the Champions League: RB Leipzig beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-0 and celebrated their fifth away win in a row.
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Seoane emphasized before kick-off DAZN: “Leipzig is the team of the hour, a team that is very strong on the counter.” His recipe, however, initially: leave the leather to the Saxons, even lurk for ball losses and, as a result, quick switching moments. For RB, this in turn meant: avoiding playback errors as far as possible, keeping concentration and patience high, finding gaps and using them as effectively as possible. Under these conditions, a highly tactical game developed with many ball losses on both sides. Yet they should be avoided.
Because it was mainly Leipzig who kept making mistakes in this regard, Bayer gradually gained slight advantages in the middle of the first half, without initially playing out anything compelling. But that changed. A header from Tah (26th) was the first real sign of respect. Peter Gulacsi kept safe. A little later Patrik Schick prevailed on the left and served Moussa Diaby. Gulacsi saved once more (28′). The home side now acted with more ball possession and presented themselves with much better pass security than their guests. RB hardly get any relieving moments. And when the all-white Saxons were in possession of the ball, they mightn’t come up with anything offensive. The creative duo Dominic’s Rooms and Emil Forsberg did not take place. The double peak Andre Silva and Yussuf Poulsen was starving. There were no chances for Leipzig to score. The 0-0 at break was flattering. Shortly before (40th) Schick had headed just wide of the post following a cross from Piero Hincapie.
With the restart, Nkunku’s break was over. He replaced Silva and was right in the thick of it. First counterattack (46′), the Frenchman fell in the penalty area (no penalty), Willi Orban took off, inside post – no goal, but RB’s first real opportunity of the night. Even if the Tedesco-Elf was better off now, it wasn’t enough to put Bayer under pressure. The coach also seemed to see it that way, brought additional benefits Konrad Laimer and Dani Olmo for Forsberg and Poulsen (59th). Immediately there was more speed in the Leipzig game, more aggressiveness, more ideas. And more chances. So Laimer sent Nordi Mukiele down the right, who missed the far post from a tight angle (68′). Szoboszlai did better then. Passed following Bayer lost the ball in midfield Tyler Adams on – of course – Nkunku, who used the Hungarian – 1-0 for RB (70th). Now Seoane made two substitutions, Paulinho and Demirbay were allowed to play (74′). While Bayer was now pushing for an equalizer (Diaby only hit the side netting, Tapsoba didn’t head in enough, Schick slipped away while trying), the guests acted largely without hectic, defended with concentration and got the win that seemed a long way off in the first half .
Leverkusen: Hradecky – Tah (74th Demirbay), Tapsoba, Hincapie (88th Azmoun) – Kossounou, Andrich (80th Alario), Aranguiz, Bakker, Palacios (74th Paulinho) – Diaby, Schick.
Leipzig: Gulacsi – Klostermann, Orban, Gvardiol – Mukiele, Adams (83. Henrichs), Szoboszlai, Halstenberg (73. Angelino), Forsberg (59. Laimer) – Poulsen (59. Olmo), Silva (46. Nkunku).
Tore: 0: 1 Szoboszlai (70).
