RB Leipzig is now on the up in the Bundesliga under new coach Marco Rose. Hertha BSC was close to equalizing in the second round.
Marco Rose wiped his forehead with his hand in relief. The Leipzig coach had to tremble in the home game against Hertha BSC after the sovereign 3-0 half-time lead had actually indicated a relatively relaxed Saturday evening.
But RB finally saved the victory in a gripping 3: 2 (3: 0) a little happily over time and moved up to one point on the European Cup places.
“Luck was on our side. It’s football, it can go fast. We have to learn from that and do better,” said RB midfielder Emil Forsberg, who scored the 1-0 lead (25th minute): ” Kudos to the Berliners, they did a good job.”
Hertha does not use the chances to equalize
Hertha defender Marc Oliver Kempf was proud of the almost successful comeback: “Everyone who saw the result in the first half assumed that we would go home with four or five things. We taught the people better.” Chidera Ejuke (81st), Davie Selke (86th) and Wilfried Kanga (90th + 4), who hit the post, missed great opportunities to equalize in a turbulent final phase.
RB thus followed the victory in the Champions League at Celtic Glasgow with success in the league. Forsberg, Abdou Diallo (30′) and Willi Orban (45′) scored 3-0 in front of 47,069 fans before Dodi Lukebakio (62’/penalty) and Stevan Jovetic (64′) shortened the lead for Hertha. Berlin’s winning streak of five unbeaten games ended, but coach Sandro Schwarz should be more than satisfied with the way he played.
Rose made just two changes to his starting XI compared to the Glasgow win, showing he had the right instincts. Both Forsberg, who was playing for the sick Timo Werner, and Diallo, who was in the starting XI for Josko Gvardiol, scored and steered the initially mixed game in the direction of Leipzig before the break. It is possible that Rose will rotate bigger on Tuesday in the DFB Cup against Hamburger SV.
At first it didn’t look like the usual goal festival against Hertha. In the past, when the two teams met, an average of 3.75 goals per game were scored, but coach Sandro Schwarz has instilled greater defensive discipline in the capital city club. This held in the initial phase in that Leipzig only had a top-class chance after 24 minutes through Christopher Nkunku, which Oliver Christensen defused.
A minute later, however, things went too fast for Hertha: Xaver Schlager captured the ball in midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai crossed into the centre, where Forsberg let the ball drift over his knee and into the goal. Five minutes later, Diallo got the fans excited again after a corner, this time it was his first goal in the RB jersey that counted. In Mainz, a goal by the central defender was disallowed. Shortly before the break, Orban finally increased to 3: 0: André Silva hit the post, but the defender stood perfectly and dusted off.
A penalty brings Hertha back into play
Black switched tactically, taking Ivan Sunjic from the field for striker Aka Kanga. On the left side of defense, Marvin Plattenhardt had to make way for Maximilian Mittelstädt. This did not result in chances at first, but Silva (50th) closed too hastily on the other side. A little later, Nkunku (59th) missed his goal. But there was support for Hertha when Diallo jumped a cross on the arm in the penalty area. Lukebakio confidently converted the penalty due.
Rose brought in two new full-backs and Kevin Kampl in central midfield to calm the game. That backfired at first. First Kampl caused a free kick, then he lost sight of his opponent Jovetic. The Montenegrin scored – and the game was open again. Leipzig tried to control the game, but Hertha continued to have great chances.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
