RB Leipzig has finished the worst first half of its history with another disappointment. The team of the new coach Domenico Tedesco lost against promoted Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday with 0: 2 (0: 0), bringing it to half-time in the Bundesliga to 22 points and thus to six points less than 2017/18 under Ralph Hasenhüttl.
Janni Serra (57th minute) and Masaya Okugawa (75th) ensured with their goals that Tedesco experienced the first defeat in the third assignment as Leipzig coach. Bielefeld had to end the game after a red card against Fabian Klos (70th) outnumbered.
The last home game of the year started with a setback for RB. Emil Forsberg, who was very strong in the 1-1 draw in Augsburg, slipped so unhappily after five minutes that he injured his left thigh. The Swedish international had to go, but the technically much less knowledgeable and more defensive Tyler Adams came.
Arminia could only smile mildly about Leipzig’s worries. Because due to positive Corona tests, the promoted goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and midfielder Manuel Prietl were missing two top performers. Substitute keeper Stefanos Kapino and Sebastian Vasiliadis replaced the duo. The first half was playful at a moderate level, the Forsberg failure quickly made itself felt at RB. Leipzig knew so little to begin with with a whopping 76 percent possession of the ball that harmless shots from Dominik Szoboszlai (12th) and Angeliño (43rd) had to be considered highlights for the time being. Arminia did little for the game, even with the few counter-chances initially showed no suitability for the first division. Suddenly the ball was still in the Leipziger Tor. But the conclusion of Okugawa (44th) after a wonderful combination did not count, because passer Patrick Wimmer was delicately offside. It was the only shot on goal in the first half by either team.
Leipzig returned from the half-time break much more determined, but the goal made Bielefeld again. And this time it counted. Wimmer failed with his shot at RB keeper Peter Gulacsi, but the margin from Serra was on. For the 23-year-old it was the first goal in the Bundesliga with his sixth shot on goal. Tedesco then replaced playmaker Kevin Kampl with Amadou Haidara – which seemed interesting at first glance, given a deficit.
Shortly afterwards the next change in personnel. Referee Frank Willenborg showed Klos after video evidence the red card for a foul on Willi Orban – a decision worth discussing. The striker had just been substituted on twelve minutes earlier. The Arminia, however, was unimpressed. Haidara made a fatal bad pass in the foot of Florian Krüger, who served the goalscorer Okugawa. The Japanese flicked the ball into the far corner worth seeing. From then on, Leipzig pushed for the connection, but did not get any significant chance.
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