The 15th matchday is underway in the German Bundesliga. Ole Werner’s team gave up a lead through ÖFB legionnaire Xaver Schlager (35th) and ultimately had to admit defeat to Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in front of their home crowd.
While the Saxons slipped to third place in the table due to this zero and Borussia Dortmund’s parallel point win, Kasper Hjulmand’s team consolidated fifth place and stayed in touch with the Champions League ranks.
Baumgartner provides a template for Schlager hits
The duel begins without a long testing phase: in the first minute, Christoph Baumgartner, who is in the starting lineup alongside his compatriots Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald, forces guest goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make a parade.
On the other side, Peter Gulacsi had to intervene a little later against a shot from Patrik Schick (5th). An open exchange of blows develops, which Leipzig initially turns into something countable: After Baumgartner’s preparatory work, Schlager makes it 1-0 with a precise shot (35th).
However, the Werkself responded promptly when Martin Terrier headed in Arthur’s cross to equalize (40′). Even before the half-time whistle, the guests turned the game around completely as Schick used an assist from Nathan Tella to take a 1-2 half-time lead (44th).
Late goal for the final score
After the break, Leipzig pushed for an equalizer, but Baumgartner missed the target with a header (48th). Conrad Harder also recorded several shots for the home team (53rd, 56th), but remained just as unlucky as Aleix Garcia, who was denied by Gulacsi in a Leverkusen counterattack (52nd).
In a final phase that was increasingly characterized by interruptions, Seiwald left the field (89th) before events came to a head in stoppage time.
Substitute Montrell Culbreath made the preliminary decision with his goal to make it 1:3 (90+7), shortly before the video assistant checked a possible penalty for Leipzig, but decided to continue play.
The bottom line is a bitter home defeat for RB Leipzig, which means they lose important points in the fight for the top of the table. Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, celebrates an essential away win and underlines its ambitions for international business.
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