Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 8:30 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 20:33

RB Leipzig miraculously prevented loss of points in the Bundesliga on Saturday evening. The team of trainer Julian Nagelsmann faced a 0-2 deficit at halftime, but straightened their back in the second half and pulled the match towards itself in injury time: 3-2. Justin Kluivert had been back in the base at Leipzig for a long time and was replaced fifteen minutes before time. The division of points has little effect with regard to the ranking. Leipzig remains second and is two points behind leader Bayern Munich. Gladbach occupies eighth place.

Gladbach shot off the starting blocks and was already on the lead within five minutes. Breel Embolo broke through on the left, slipped past Dayot Upamecano on the back line and saw how the Leipzig defender then needed a foul to stop him. Referee Manuel Gräfe pointed to the spot, after which Jonas Hofmann took the opportunity: 1-0. The midfielder’s penalty kick was anything but convincing, but went against the ropes via the fingertips of goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi. Leipzig soon seemed to be doing something back, as Marcel Halstenberg made room for himself and produced a handsome shot. The German’s shot, however, lacked power and precision.

Ten minutes later it was hit on the other side. Embolo outsmarted Halstenberg on the right side of the field, after which his measured cross could be headed in diagonally by Marcus Thuram at the second ratchet. Leipzig, which had dominated until that moment but did not manage to achieve great opportunities, then got into the game better and recorded the first moment of excitement via the Dutchman. The attacker dribbled into Gladbach’s sixteen, but had to watch how Yann Sommer narrowed his goal in time and thus prevented any danger.

In the second half, Leipzig put things in order and came back into the game after ten minutes of play. Alexander Sörloth brought the ball low in front of the goal from the left, after which it was a breeze for Christopher Nkunku to shoot the ball from close range into the roof of the goal: 1-2. Just before that, a hit by Sörloth was rejected by the video referee because of hands. The equalizer followed more than twenty minutes before the end. Yussuf Poulsen was played on the edge of the box by Dani Olmo and shot nicely in the lower left corner from about twenty meters: 2-2. The party became complete for Leipzig, when Sörloth secured victory deep in injury time. The Norwegian headed in at the far post on Nkunku’s pass: 3-2.