Talking Points from Borussia Dortmund 2-3 RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig came from behind to stun Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the Bundesliga. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace for the home side but that wasn’t enough as Marcel Sabitzer, Yussuf Poulsen and Jean-Kevin Augustin scored a goal each for the visitors.

Both sides created plenty of chances in the first half, with Aubameyang scoring the opener with barely four minutes on the clock. The game looked like it would be a one-sided contest, particularly because the visiting side’s key players like Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner were on the bench. However, Leipzig scored the equalising goal almost immediately through Sabitzer’s header. The visitors even took a surprise lead when Bruma’s sensational run on the left wing was tapped into the net by Poulsen.

Just when Dortmund looked close to an equaliser, things took a turn for the worse. Sokratis’ foul on Augustin in the box was penalised by the referee, and not only was a penalty awarded, he was even shown a straight red card for his poor challenge. Augustin drilled the resulting penalty past Burki to give his side a 3-1 lead. Aubameyang then missed a superb chance when he was sent through on goal by a lofty pass from Gotze, but the one-on-one didn’t come to anything. He, however, scored another goal, this time from the spot, after being tripped into the box by Bernardo, moments after Stefan Ilsanker was shown a second yellow card and was sent off. Peter Bosz’s men put everything on the line but were thwarted by a resilient Leipzig side, who held on for a big win.

Dortmund remain on top of the league despite this loss, as Leipzig moved to within three points of the league leaders after eight match-days.

Here are the major Talking Points from the Match-

Winning Streak Ends

Before this match, Dortmund hadn’t lost a single domestic game this season. However, their unbeaten streak came to a shock halt against Ralph Hassenhutl’s side. This also marked the end of their record run, wherein they had been unbeaten at home in the league for 41 games running.

Big Game Bottlers?

Peter Bosz’s men have been superb in some matches this season, but critics have been quick to point out that their wins mean nothing if they’re facing weak opponents. And since this was their first stern test in the league this season, their loss shows that they don’t have enough quality to challenge the top sides and that is why they may not deserve to win the league. They lost their UCL games to Tottenham and Real Madrid, two games against two tough opponents, which further supports their status as a big game bottler this season. Well, they can still change it as it’s only the beginning of the season yet.

Threat from Bayern?

Bayern bounced back from their recent setbacks with a statement 5-0 victory over Freiburg, which was their first game under stand-in coach Jupp Heynckes. The star manager, who’s won the treble with the club before, would be a huge threat to Bosz’s men, and their resurgence has already begun. In a season where Dortmund were supposed to finally come out of Bayern’s showdown in the Bundesliga, does this mean there’s a twist in the tale?

Sokratis and Toljan Awful

Much of Dortmund’s woeful performance was the end result of pathetic performances from Toljan and Sokratis. The centre-back gave away a penalty and was sent off, which marked a drastic change in the latter stages of the game. And the full-back, playing in for the injured Piszczek, was so poor that he was at fault for two goals and was embarrassed by Bruma twice. With performances like these, it won’t be surprising if these two don’t make the team sheet in the upcoming matches.