Simons and Openda excel and beat Dortmund with Leipzig

RB Leipzig did excellent business on Saturday in the battle for fourth place in the Bundesliga and a Champions League ticket. Despite a bad start, they won 3-1 against number five and main competitor Borussia Dortmund. Loïs Openda scored his 24th goal of this Bundesliga season and the visitors were missing Ian Maatsen (suspension) and Donyell Malen (injury) from the match selection.

Dortmund's start in the Red Bull Arena was still promising. After 20 minutes of play, a cross from the right ended up with Jadon Sancho, who received the ball well and then scored beautifully in the right cross: 0-1. However, Dortmund could not enjoy the lead for long.

Xavi Simons managed to reach Openda and the former Vitesse player hit the equalizer against the ropes. There was still some doubt due to a VAR check, but the goal was ultimately awarded to Leipzig. Simons even seemed to give Leipzig the lead, but the Dutchman was unlucky when his shot ended up against the post.

Leipzig's lead came in injury time in the first half. Benjamin Sesko was alert to a corner kick from the home club and scored from close range to make it 2-1. A major setback for Dortmund, which desperately needs the points in the race for a ticket for the group stage of the Champions League.

Dortmund had to suffer even more setbacks in Leipzig after the break. In the first minute after the restart, Mohamed Simakan scored on a pass from Openda. Shortly afterwards, Mats Hummels pulled out injured and the veteran at the back had to be replaced by Niklas Süle.

More than ten minutes before the end of the fascinating encounter, Leipzig put an end to all tension. Christoph Baumgartner managed to find the bottom right corner: 4-1. It caused scenes of joy in the stands at the Red Bull Arena. In the meantime, the devastated Dortmund was licking its wounds.

A big blow for Dortmund, which is now five points behind Leipzig and can actually forget about fourth place with three rounds to play. In addition, it is a very bad general for the cracker against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League on Wednesday.

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