RB Leipzig also slipped badly in the Bundesliga after the crashing end in the Champions League. Four days after the 7-0 debacle at Manchester City, the DFB Cup winner lost 1-0 (0-0) at VfL Bochum, who were threatened with relegation, and lost important points in the race to return to the premier class. Bochum got a little air in the relegation battle with the first competitive win against the Saxons.
Erhan Masovic (48′) scored a header for the Westphalians, who after two home defeats in a row were celebrating success again in the Ruhr Stadium. In their ninth duel with VfL, Leipzig did not leave the field as a winner for the first time.
“The 0:7 didn’t matter, we were well prepared for Bochum. The defeat is bitter because the opponent was only ahead once after a throw-in and we had many chances,” commented RB keeper Janis Blaswich on the Sky microphone. However, Blaswich still sees his team’s Champions League chances as intact: “The league is not over yet.” In the Bochum camp, on the other hand, there was naturally pure joy. “The points are worth their weight in gold for us at the moment, like every point,” said technical director Marc Lettau and analyzed: “We played passionately, that was the basis for everything, also because Manu Riemann showed a sensational performance.”
Compared to the Manchester swatter, RB coach Marco Rose had changed his team to four positions: Mohamed Simakan and Marcel Halstenberg occupied the full-back positions, Yussuf Poulsen and Andre Silva the offensive. VfL coach Thomas Letsch, who made his Bochum debut in the 4-0 defeat in the first leg, left his starting XI unchanged after the 2-0 win in Cologne.
Right from the start, Leipzig tried to develop their combination game, but initially couldn’t cope with the duel from Bochum at all. VfL, on the other hand, barely managed to bring their fast wingers Takuma Asano and Christopher Antwi-Adjei into play. So it took until the 22nd minute before Timo Werner got the first shot on goal, but it clearly missed his target.
A free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai well over the goal (33′) was the second, equally harmless goal for the guests. Bochum defended with concentration, didn’t leave much room and won most of the duels. Leipzig tried several times via Halstenberg and Werner on the left, but without success. With 66 percent possession of the ball, the cup winner could not buy anything at half-time – up until then there had been no real chances to score.
Shortly after the restart it got even worse for the favorites: After a header by Philipp Hofmann, Janis Blaswich parried an Asano header, but then Masovic headed in – it was VfL’s first Bundesliga goal against RB in the fourth duel.
Leipzig reacted with increased attacking efforts, but initially there were no clear chances. Bochum continued to win the decisive duels and had luck on their side in added time when the visitors hit the post.
