RB Leipzig's victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach: When football doesn't matter

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Fans in the Leipzig block

Photo:

Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Moment of the game:

The game between RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach was almost over when the spectators turned on their cell phone lights and intoned: "We are Leipzig." It had nothing to do with the score, it was the nature of the fans to react to what had previously happened in the stands. A Leipzig supporter died during the game and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. A Gladbach ultra had also died in a traffic accident the day before. This determined the entire atmosphere of the game, the supporters remained appropriately silent. It demoted the game of football back to its true meaning. In such cases, people like to say that football becomes unimportant. And yes, he will.

Result of the game: The

game was still played. In light of the current fan protests, there is so much talk about canceling the game. Maybe you should also think about whether such a bereavement would be more of a reason to end a game early. RB Leipzig won 2-0, you can read the match report here.

The first half:

The Gladbach fans were quiet from the start, there was no support, no tennis balls were flying. This is how the away riders reacted to the news of death from their ranks. When the medical emergency in the RB block came along, things became really quiet. Under different circumstances, Xavi Simons's remarkable opening goal would have deserved more enthusiasm.

The second half:

During the break the news made the rounds that the Leipzig fan had died. Sky live reporter Wolf Fuss then tried to do business as usual, but you could tell he was internalizing what he had said at the start of halftime: "This is just a football game." A football game that RB brought home without much effort . Lois Openda with a beautiful lob over Gladbach's goalkeeper Nicolas made the victory perfect. RB is now only one point behind Borussia Dortmund and the secure Champions League places.

Player of the Match:

Xavi Simons' tearful face when he goes down in a duel has the potential to make him a pain in the ass in the league. But the 20-year-old Dutchman, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, makes up for it with his outstanding football game. You probably won't see him in the Bundesliga for long.

Voice of the game:

TV expert Lothar Matthäus bravely fought his way through the broadcast with a hoarse voice with a cold. Sky presenter Sebastian Hellmann asked him compassionately during the break whether his voice was still holding. But if you knew Matthäus as a player, you knew: He's holding out. It was the hoarseness that one would have liked to have wished for the Leipzig stadium announcer Tim Thoellke on other occasions.

Quo vadis, Borussia:

The Gladbachers remain without a win in the second half of the season, the relegation zone is still looming in the distance, but it can already be seen with the naked eye. Coach Gerardo Seoane's team could improve on this poor season by reaching the DFB Cup final. The only opponents on the way there would be the beatable 1. FC Saarbrücken (3rd league) and 1. FC Kaiserslautern (2nd league). Gladbach fans know how this ends.

Realization of the game:

On Friday evening, after renewed tennis ball protests, Fürth's coach Alexander Zorniger, using his last name, complained that the fans were "not the heart of the game", but at best its soul. Apart from the fact that the distinction between heart and soul leads to the highly philosophical: This sad evening in Leipzig showed that the fans are both: the heart and soul of football.