Emre Can (R) of Dortmund vies with Christopher Nkunku of Leipzig during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in Dortmund, Germany, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund suffered a heavy setback in the Bundesliga title race after losing 4-1 to clinical Leipzig in the 28th round on Saturday.
The BVB started brightly into the encounter and should have opened the scoring at an early stage, but Marco Reus wasted a golden opportunity with a poor pass with only Leipzig custodian Peter Gulacsi to beat while Erling Haaland and Raphael Guerreiro lacked in accuracy from promising positions.
The opener was scored at the other end of the pitch as Leipzig finished off a counterattack via Konrad Laimer, who chipped the ball over onrushing Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel in the 21st minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Dortmund as the Red Bulls doubled their advantage nine minutes later when Laimer wrapped up his brace after beating Kobel with a deflected shot.
After the restart, the hosts increased the pressure but couldn't do any damage to Leipzig's defense, which kept top striker Haaland at arm length for most of the time.
Leipzig continued its success in counterattacks and flabbergasted Dortmund as Laimer's backheel pass allowed Christopher Nkunku to drill the ball past Kobel into the top right corner.
Dortmund showed signs of life in the closing stages as Donyell Malen made it 3-1 out of the blue after heading home a blocked shot from Emre Can.
But ruthless Leipzig restored its three-goal lead and put the result beyond doubt only moments later when Dani Olmo had all time and space to unleash a 20-meter hammer into roof of the net.
"It is a tough loss as we conceded four goals. We started well and had the chance to break the deadlock. Leipzig had no control and counterattacked only. We weren't effective enough and we gave Leipzig too much room for counters," rued Dortmund coach Marco Rose.
"To win here 4-1 is not easy but I think we highly deserved to win here today. We defended well and clinically finished off our counterattacks. Dortmund had one or two chances in the very beginning but that's okay," said Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco. ■
Konrad Laimer of Leipzig celebrates after scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in Dortmund, Germany, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Axel Witsel (L) of Dortmund vies with Konrad Laimer of Leipzig during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in Dortmund, Germany, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Marco Reus (top) of Dortmund vies with Daniel Olmo of Leipzig during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in Dortmund, Germany, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
