After his farewell goal, Emil Forsberg waved his hairband over his head and at the final whistle, all teammates rushed towards the man of the day. Later they even threw it into the air – in the middle of the TV interview.
What had already been a poorly kept secret immediately became a certainty: after nine years, the playmaker will sadly leave RB Leipzig and move to the New York Red Bulls. RB then immediately confirmed this via the club channels.
“I can hardly believe it. That’s something you dream about, scoring a goal in your last home game,” said Forsberg on Sky after the 3-1 (1-1) win against TSG Hoffenheim. “But everything comes to an end. It feels incredible. I love this city and the fans.”
His last performance in front of the emotionally touched home audience was also an early Christmas present. With 32 points, the Saxons jumped to third place in the premier class – nine points ahead of the Kraichgauers and six ahead of their first pursuer Borussia Dortmund.
National player Lukas Klostermann (34th), Forsberg himself (70th) and Mohamed Simakan (74th) scored for Leipzig, Ozan Kabak was successful for Hoffenheim after a mistake by RB goalkeeper Janis Blaswich (42nd).
For Forsberg, who is about to move to the New York Red Bulls after nine years, it was a very special last home game in the RB uniform. First he came on as a substitute in the 66th minute, then four minutes later he scored the important 2-1. After the end of the year at Werder Bremen on Tuesday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky), the Swede will leave RB, which he shaped from the test tube like no other person in the club’s short history. The old video of his performance in Leipzig ran again on the scoreboard.
At first, however, Forsberg sat on the bench, bundled up, and saw how Leipzig were putting pressure on them. Since Hoffenheim’s five-man chain stood well despite the opposition’s dominance, RB only had a few half-chances at the beginning before Xavi Simons (17th) tested TSG goalkeeper Oliver Baumann more seriously for the first time.
Without the injured striker Wout Weghorst and Maximilian Beier, who initially sat out after an infection, TSG had to hope for a counterattack. Andrej Kramaric (24th) hit the side netting after one. But Leipzig remained the dominant team. Yussuf Poulsen (30th) should have taken the lead in a one-on-one with the strong Baumann, which Klostermann took four minutes later with a shot from the fray.
Because RB did not immediately convert their superiority into the second goal – after a great Xavi solo, Baumann (36th) made a desperate save – with a little luck, Hoffenheim got back into the game. After Robert Skov’s free-kick cross, the onrushing Blaswich flew past the ball, which Kabak used his entire body to send into the net to equalize.
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Immediately after the break, Leipzig continued to be more compelling, with Xavi shining as usual with his dribbling. When he had easily shaken off his guards five minutes after the restart, the Dutchman shot straight into the post. Rose now pushed for the winning goal, partly by substituting Forsberg. And the 32-year-old actually scored ice-cold after a wonderful assist from Lois Openda. Forsberg was also involved in Simakan’s goal – he had previously hit the crossbar and Simakan took advantage of the goal.
