Head coach Xabi Alonso rotated in seven positions following the 1-0 win over FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the DFB Pokal in midweek. Matej Kovar, Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Aleix Garcia were the only players to keep their places. Leipzig had more possession to begin with but it was the Werkself who created the early openings. Tapsoba and Piero Hincapie both went close with headers from Garcia crosses inside the first 10 minutes. Granit Xhaka's shot from distance moments later sailed just wide of the target. Just before that, Leipzig's Amadou Haidara had to go off after being caught in the face by an attempted overhead kick from Victor Boniface.
It remained a lively contest, marked by an increasing number of tackles. RBL coach Marco Rose was shown a second yellow card during this period for vocal complaints. On the pitch, meanwhile, his team created the best chance to date. Lois Openda delivered a cross from the right to Benjamin Sesko but the Slovenian steered the ball over the Bayer goal (32').
That was followed by the opening goal for the Black-and-Reds. Lukas Klostermann's failed clearance fell to Jeremie Frimpong, who bore down on goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. The Dutchman skipped away from the sliding challenge of defender El-Chadaille Bithiabu before slotting the ball past the RB keeper (39'). With half-time approaching, the German champions struck again. Martin Terrier kept the ball in play and, with Gulacsi out of his goal, played it back to Florian Wirtz. The playmaker laid it on for the unmarked Alejandro Grimaldo on the penalty spot, who just had to tap in the second goal (45'). However, that wasn't the last goal of the first period as Leipzig pulled one back in the seventh minute of added time through ex-Leverkusen man Kevin Kampl.
Both teams started the second half with lots of attacking drive. Kampl tried his luck with a placed distance shot, which Kovar plucked away from the right corner (47'). Four minutes later, defender Castello Lukeba headed into the net but the goal was disallowed by referee Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck as Sesko, who attempted to intervene in the flight of the ball, was stood in an offside position. At the other end, Wirtz with a low strike from outside the area (56') and Terrier with a header (57') both had attempts. Seconds later, the goal came for Leipzig as Sesko fed Openda with a through ball and the Belgian drilled it through Kovar's legs from a tight angle (57').
Despite more possession for the Black-and-Reds, the visitors had the better opportunities to take the lead. Alonso sent on Amine Adli for Terrier to invigorate the attack (71'), with Patrik Schick and Nathan Tella also coming on for Boniface and Frimpong soon after (77'). But after Leverkusen offered Leipzig too much space as they tracked back, Openda netted with a classy long-range shot to make it 3-2 to Leipzig. Bayer 04 responded with a chance for Wirtz, which Gulacsi saved (84'), but there was to be no last-gasp goal this time as their 35-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga came to an end.
The first international break of the new season begins now, with numerous Werkself players involved in 2024/25 UEFA Nations League fixtures as well as qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. After the break, Alonso's men visit TSG Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 3. The meeting at the PreZero Arena kicks off at 15:30 CEST on Saturday 14 September.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Kovar – Tapsoba (Arthur 85'), Tah, Hincapie – Frimpong (Tella 77'), Xhaka, Garcia, Grimaldo – Terrier (Adli 71'), Wirtz – Boniface (Schick 77')
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi - Klostermann, Bitshiabu, Lukeba - Henrichs (Vermeeren 89'), Kampl (Baumgartner 89'), Raum - Haidara (Seiwald 15'), Simons - Sesko (Nusa 67'), Openda (Poulsen 89')
Goals: 1-0 Frimpong (39'), 2-0 Grimaldo (45'), 2-1 Kampl (45'+7), 2-2 Openda (57'), 2-3 Openda (80')
Yellow cards: Boniface, Frimpong, Tapsoba / Klostermann
Red cards: Rose (coach)
Referee: Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck (Müllheim)
Crowd: 29,615 at the BayArena (home sellout)
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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