RB Leipzig has secured second place in the Bundesliga with a narrow 1-2 win at Werder Bremen. Partly thanks to star Janis Blaswich, the team of coach Marco Rose managed to win the game. Bayer Leverkusen also managed to book a victory. With Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker in the starting line-up, Xabi Alonso’s team won 2-0 against VfB Stuttgart.
Bayer Leverkusen – VfB Stuttgart 2-0
The first big chance of the match came in the name of Amine Adli. The striker received the ball in the box, but then saw his shot fly wide of the right post. Stuttgart played along nicely in the opening phase, although the home team remained the more threatening team. Adli saw his shot cracked, after which an attempt by Moussa Diaby went just wide. After Adli shot just wide from the edge of the box, Diaby scored a minute later. The winger saw his shot with the left end nicely in the right corner of the goal: 1-0. The team of trainer Xabi Alonso tried in the remainder of the first half mainly with high balls, but without success.
After the break, the chances were initially scarce. After twenty minutes into the second half, Diaby had the chance to make his second of the afternoon. However, his shot went over the target. On the other side, Dan-Axel Zagadou threatened with a good pass, which was just cleared by the home side’s defence. Leverkusen then came into the game better and that seemed to lead to Frimpong’s 2-0, were it not that his goal was disallowed for offside. After substitute Adam Hlozek shot over the bar, the decision came in minute 82. A corner by Exequiel Palacios ended up at Jonathan Tah, who managed to work in just before the goal: 2-0.
Werder Bremen – RB Leipzig 1-2
Emil Forsberg got the first chance of the game when the Sweden international was reached in the box. However, his shot could be blocked. After less than fifteen minutes of play, the visitors still scored. André Silva received the ball from Forsberg, after which the Portuguese did not hesitate and placed the ball in the bottom right corner: 0-1. The home side were then close to equalizing via Niclas Füllkrug. The German World Cup-goer shot towards the top left corner, but saw ex-Heraclied Blaswich make a nice save. Christopher Nkunku missed a great opportunity just before the half hour, because his attempt went just wide. On behalf of the home team, Leonardo Bittencourt had a great chance just before half-time, but Blaswich again had a nice save.
After the break, Dominik Szoboszlai thought to double the score, but the Hungarian ran into a defender. After Nkunku also missed a great chance, it was hit on the other side. Christian Gross hit the top right corner, after a nice combination between him and Romano Schmid: 1-1. After a free kick by Nkunku and an attempt by Benjamin Henrichs came to nothing, the East Germans still hit it moments later. Xaver Schlager got a lot of space from the Bremen defence, giving the Swiss enough time to place the ball in the bottom right corner: 1-2. Szoboszlai (shot turned), Füllkrug (header and shot wide) and Nkunku (shot wide) still had great opportunities in the remainder, but Blaswich in particular showed his class.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 31 |
| 2 | RB Leipzig | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 28 |
| 3 | 1. FC Union Berlin | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| 4 | SC Freiburg | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 27 |
| 5 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Borussia Dortmund | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | VfL Wolfsburg | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 23 |
| 8 | Borussia Monchengladbach | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| 9 | Werder Bremen | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | -2 | 21 |
| 10 | TSG Hoffenheim | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Bayer Leverkusen | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -1 | 18 |
| 12 | FSV Mainz 05 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 18 |
| 13 | 1. FC Cologne | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | -8 | 17 |
| 14 | FC Augsburg | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -8 | 15 |
| 15 | Hertha BSC | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -3 | 14 |
| 16 | VfB Stuttgart | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -9 | 14 |
| 17 | VfL Bochum | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | -22 | 13 |
| 18 | Schalke 04 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -17 | 9 |