‘Magical Magyar’ Szoboszlai shoots Leipzig to within one point of Bayern


Friday, January 27, 2023 at 10:38 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 22:50

RB Leipzig has kept the connection with the top of the Bundesliga. The team of trainer Marco Rose was 2-1 too strong for VfB Stuttgart. Dominik Szoboszlai was the big man for the hosts by scoring twice. Chris Führich brought back the tension, but the visitors did not get any further than that. Leipzig, classified second, has approached Bayern Munich to one point, although the leader will still play on Saturday. Stuttgart is fifteenth and has serious relegation concerns.

It was Stuttgart that could have taken the lead after just under ten minutes of play. Thomas Kastanaras tried with a shot, but had to admit his superior in goalkeeper Janis Blaswich. Leipzig took the initiative and after 25 minutes the team took the lead. A free kick by Szoboszlai turned out to be too powerful for Stuttgart goalie Florian Müller after a treacherous bounce: 1-0. Leipzig could have doubled the margin before the break. André Silva was served perfectly, but the Portuguese’s header hit the left post. Via again Silva (rescue Müller) and Dani Olmo, who shot over in a promising position, Leipzig came close to doubling the score twice before the break.

Immediately after the break, Stuttgart had the chance to equalize. Nikolas Nartey was found uncovered in the box, but his attempt flew just wide of the left post. That turned out to be an expensive miss, because minutes later it was 2-0 and again Szoboszlai was the celebrated man. On the edge of the box, the Hungarian controlled the ball with his head, after which his powder in the far corner proved untenable. Stuttgart, however, did not give up and via Luca Pfeiffer, who headed over, it was close to the tying goal. Not much later, the visitors received a penalty kick, after hands from Josko Gvardiol. Führich then hit Blaswich: 2-1. In the final phase, the chances were for Leipzig. Emil Forsberg shot over five minutes before the end, while Yussuf Poulsen bumped into Müller. However, victory was no longer in danger.

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 Bayern Munich 17 10 6 1 36 36
2 RB Leipzig 18 10 5 3 15 35
3 1. FC Union Berlin 17 10 3 4 7 33
4 Eintracht Frankfurt 17 9 4 4 11 31
5 Borussia Dortmund 17 10 1 6 6 31
6 SC Freiburg 17 9 4 4 2 31
7 VfL Wolfsburg 17 8 5 4 15 29
8 Bayer Leverkusen 17 7 3 7 2 24
9 Borussia Monchengladbach 17 6 4 7 2 22
10 1. FC Cologne 17 5 6 6 -2 21
11 Werder Bremen 17 6 3 8 -9 21
12 FSV Mainz 05 17 5 5 7 -6 20
13 TSG Hoffenheim 17 5 4 8 -2 19
14 FC Augsburg 17 5 3 9 -8 18
15 VfB Stuttgart 18 3 7 8 -10 16
16 VfL Bochum 17 5 1 11 -22 16
17 Hertha BSC 17 3 5 9 -10 14
18 Schalke 04 17 2 3 12 -27 9