Leipzig up to third after 2-1 win over Augsburg
October 1, 2016Leipzig 2-1 Augsburg
(Forsberg 11', Poulsen 52' - Ji 14')
The match at the Red Bull Arena pitted the youngest team in the Bundesliga, Leipzig with an average age of 24.3, against the oldest, Augsburg with 28.0, and the home side had more zip in the early stages.
They were ahead in the 11th minute when a Marcel Sabitzer effort was saved by Marwin Hitz but Emil Forsberg was quickly onto the rebound and lashed the ball in off the Augsburg goalkeeper from a tight angle.
Delicious effort
The lead lasted a mere three minutes before Dong-Won Ji drifted into the area and curled a delicious effort into the top corner.
Leipzig had several chances for a second before the break, Timo Werner coming closest when he nodded onto the crossbar in the 25th minute.
Sabitzer had two efforts early in the second period before creating Leipzig’s second with a superb through ball to Yussuf Poulsen.
The Dane left his marker floundering and cracked a shot high past Hitz for his debut Bundesliga goal.
Poulsen was furious with Werner just after the hour when his fellow forward wasted a clear chance on the breakaway, opting to shoot on goal instead of passing to his better-placed team mate.
Leipzig’s Scottish winger Oliver Burke came on with a few minutes left before Naby Keita and Poulsen came close to a third goal.
Scuffed shot
There was still time for Augsburg to carve out a chance but Alfred Finnbogason scuffed his weak shot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
"It's nice to see that we've settled into the league," Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhüttl said in a television interview. "But we'll stay hungry. We're not satisfied yet."
Leipzig have 12 points from six games, level with second-placed Borussia Dortmund before their match at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Champions Bayern Munich are top with a perfect 15 points, with Cologne, who play at Bayern on Saturday, a point behind Leipzig in fourth.
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen went five games without defeat in 1969, the last team to do so before Leipzig.