Bundesliga: RB Leipzig gets back on the road to success against Union Berlin

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Loïs Openda (r.) and his teammates after the 1-0

Photo: Ronny Hartmann / AFP

RB Leipzig stopped its series of defeats in the Bundesliga and won 2-0 (1-0) against Union Berlin. Loïs Openda (11th minute) and Benjamin Šeško (48th) scored for the Saxons against the weakest away team in the league on matchday 20.

The Leipzig team moved within one point of Borussia Dortmund in the table and thus the Champions League places. Union remains in 15th place, but has the chance to create more space between itself and the relegation place in the catch-up game at Mainz 05 on Wednesday. The Berliners will have to do without their captain Christopher Trimmel, who was sent off for serious foul play (73').

“We want to give new impetus,” Leipzig coach Marco Rose said before the game, also referring to the veterans Péter Gulácsi and Willi Orbán. Both made their starting eleven comeback in the Bundesliga. Goalkeeper Gulácsi lost his regular place after tearing his cruciate ligament and therefore last played between the posts in a league game on October 1, 2022.

In the pouring rain, Leipzig put pressure on from the start and was rewarded: a header from Orbán and a shot from Benjamin Henrichs were deflected before the ball fell at Openda's feet. The Belgian didn't miss his 14th goal of this Bundesliga season despite the acute angle (11th).

The deficit initially did not cause the guests from Köpenick to question their basic defensive stance. In the meantime, Union had less than 30 percent possession of the ball. Leipzig, on the other hand, was unable to stop the game from being interrupted for a short time due to balls being thrown onto the field. Berlin goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow prevented the deserved 2-0 (45th + 2) before the break.

That happened after the break. David Raum crossed into the middle, where Šeško was left alone and headed in (48'). Another header goal from Šeško in the 57th minute did not count as the 20-year-old Slovenian was offside. After that, Union got a little better, only to weaken themselves: Trimmel hit Raum with a tackle on the foot and was shown a red card (73'). Berlin's defeat was finally sealed and would have almost been even greater in stoppage time, but Xavi Simons only hit the crossbar (90th + 2).

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