Cup winner RB Leipzig did not get beyond a 1-1 draw at VfB in Stuttgart in the opening round of the German Bundesliga on Sunday. The ÖFB team player Konrad Laimer, who was willing to change, was not officially in the squad for the Saxons due to an injury. 1. FC Köln then started the season with a 3-1 win against newly promoted Schalke 04, the Austrians Dejan Ljubicic and Florian Kainz each scored a hit.
In front of a home audience, the “Billion Goats” helped a good one-hour majority to success, in which the ÖFB duo showed a strong performance. Ljubicic already had his feet in the game when Luca Kilian made it 1-0 (49′), the 24-year-old scored the goal to make it 3-1 with a header (80′). Kainz had previously scored 2-0 with a dust-off. The goal was initially not recognized, but the review by the VAR finally made the Styrian celebrate (62nd). This ended the 1st round with no fewer than six goals scored by the Austrians.
The Cologne team had an important “personnel” right before the game: strikers Anthony Modest has agreed on a change with Borussia Dortmund and should replace the sick Sebastien Haller there. He was therefore no longer in the squad.
Stuttgart with Kalajdzic, Leipzig without Laimer
Xavier Schlager looked at the match in Stuttgart from the bench as his Leipzig teammates took the lead early on through Christopher Nkunku (7th). Naouirou Ahamada succeeded for the Swabians after a one-two Sasa Kalajdzic equalization (31st). Kalajdzic, who is fit again after recovering from an ankle problem and could still leave VfB during this transfer period, put in a good performance several times. In the 64th minute, the ÖFB international was substituted.
Konrad Laimer According to his coach Domenico Tedesco, he had twisted his ankle in training the day before and was therefore missing. The 25-year-old midfielder is associated with Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, the German team player returns Timo Werner according to the “Bild” newspaper from Chelsea back to Leipzig. Both clubs would have agreed on the transfer, but Werner’s signature is still missing. The 26-year-old striker switched from Leipzig to Chelsea two years ago for around 55 million euros.
Source: Nachrichten
