Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig were made to settle for a share of the spoils in an entertaining 1-1 Bundesliga draw, extending BVB’s undefeated start to the season to nine games across all competitions (W6, D3).
Coming into this match with 13 points from their opening five Bundesliga games - their best tally at this stage in eight years - Dortmund were riding high and looking to keep the pressure on leaders Bayern Munich.
Breathing down their necks were opponents Leipzig, who took just seven minutes to break the deadlock when a long ball into the box was nodded down by Assan Ouedraogo, allowing Christoph Baumgartner to sweep in from close range.
However, that lead didn’t last very long, as Yan Couto’s low, deflected effort found its way into the net following a neat lay-off from Serhou Guirassy.
An entertaining half almost had its third goal on the half-hour mark, but Romulo Cardoso’s celebrations were cut short as he was flagged offside, having been slipped through on goal by David Raum down the left.
Having ended the first period on the back foot, Leipzig took control after the restart, with Romulo heading a deep cross onto the roof of the net before an angled strike from Antonio Nusa forced a save from Gregor Kobel.
The hosts’ response to the second-half barrage was positive, working a promising chance for Guirassy that was tamely struck, but was soon followed by audible encouragement from the home fans.
The introduction of Yan Diomande off the RB bench sparked the visitors into life during the final quarter of the match, arresting Dortmund’s charge and seeing momentum shift once more.
Unhappy to sit back and absorb the pressure, the home side searched for a late winner through Julian Brandt, whose looping header dropped wide of the target, shortly before Nicolas Seiwald denied Fabio Silva a certain goal with a timely intervention, and Ramy Bensebaini saw his late effort thwarted by Peter Gulacsi.
A draw is far from a disastrous result for either side, with Dortmund now unbeaten in 14 league games, extending to the end of last season (W11, D3).
Leipzig’s four-game winning run in the league may be at an end, but a draw here keeps them third, one point behind Die Schwarzgelben, whom they have lost just two of the last nine meetings against.
Flashscore Man of the Match: David Raum (RB Leipzig)
