Leipzig (Germany) (AFP)

Following the victories of Bayern on Friday and Dortmund on Saturday, RB Leipzig, semi-finalists in the Champions League in August, kicked off their Bundesliga season with a 3-1 victory at home on Sunday against Mainz.

These three points - acquired in front of 8,500 spectators - place the Saxons, third in the Bundesliga in the last two seasons, in fourth position on goal difference, tied with six other winning clubs this weekend.

Formally, the first place is occupied by Bayern Munich, who wiped out Schalke 8-0 on Friday night in the opening game of the new season.

Against Mainz, only five players who had started in the 3-0 defeat in Lisbon against Paris SG were on the pitch at kick-off.

But the RB started at 100 per hour, and was already leading 2-0 after 21 minutes of play, thanks to a penalty from Emil Forsberg (17th) and a nice lobed header from Yussuf Poulsen (21st), positioned in points to the place left vacant by Timo Werner, who left to try his luck at Chelsea.

The same Poulsen (29th), then Forsberg (31st) had the opportunities to permanently kill the match, but it was finally with a score of 2-0 that the two teams returned to the locker room.

- Podium goal for Leipzig -

The "Red Bulls" seemed to be in perfect control of the game, when they were taken by surprise when they returned from the locker room on a block.

The French Jean-Philippe Mateta believed to restart the match by deceiving the goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi (2-1, 48th).

But the RB responded three minutes later by Malian Amadou Haidara, to the resumption of an unbalanced pass between two defenders of Forsberg (3-1, 51st).

The departure of Werner, the club's biggest star, has not been matched by an equivalent recruiting, and Leipzig managers have no plans to let their heads spin on their Champions League semi-final.

"We cannot afford to buy young international talent from the most expensive section," admitted coach Julian Nagelsmann, who has a reasonable sporting ambition for this season: "After the departures of Werner and (Patrik ) Schick, our goal will be to maintain our level, to finish third again and to have another good run in the Champions League, "he set himself as a goal.

After Bayern's coup on Friday, Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 on Saturday in the first big shock of this Bundesliga 2020-2021 against Mönchengladbach.

Dortmund are in third place behind Hertha Berlin, who won 4-1 on the road to Bremen.

The first day ends this Sunday with the reception of Leverkusen by Wolfsburg (18h00).

© 2020 AFP