Reus nets again as strong display earns 1-1 draw in Leipzig

Boris Rupert reporting from Leipzig

The 42,558 fans witnessed a fast-paced and hard-fought encounter in which the Black & Yellows had two goals from Batshuayi (16) and Reus (25) correctly disallowed for offside inside the opening half an hour. But in a match played in temperatures below freezing, it was the hosts who broke the deadlock when Augustin slotted home on the half-hour mark. A resilient BVB soon battled back to level through Reus (38) but, despite dominating until the end, the visitors simply could not find a winner.

The scenario: 
Sixth-placed Leipzig, who finished last season in second, went into this one knowing a win would draw them level with DFB Cup winners Dortmund, who were aiming to open up a six-point cushion over their opponents. BVB travelled to Saxony unbeaten in their last nine league outings, while Hasenhüttl's charges had lost three games on the bounce for the first time all season.

Personnel matters:  
Maximilian Philipp was back in the squad for the first time since sustaining a knee injury three months ago, but Jadon Sancho had not quite recovered sufficiently from the ligament injury he suffered four weeks ago in Cologne. BVB were still without Kagawa (ankle), Guerreiro (muscular problems), Yarmolenko (foot tendon injury), Durm (torn lateral collateral ligament in foot) and Rode (rehab). Peter Stöger made two changes to the starting XI that drew 1-1 with Augsburg on Monday, with Akanji and Dahoud replacing Sokratis and Castro (both substitutes). Leipzig were without former BVB man Halstenberg (torn cruciate ligament).

Tactics: 
Both teams adopted a rather open approach: Leipzig, in a 4-4-2 formation, played a high counter-pressing game involving all four of their attacking players, while BVB, in a 4-2-3-1, looked to take advantage of the space Leipzig gave them with quick and simple counter-attacks.

The match & analysis:
From the first whistle it was a frenetic encounter with little breathing space. Following a first foray forward by Batshuayi – who latched on to Reus' pass but drifted too far to the left and had to settle for a corner (2) – a misplaced pass at the back by Akanji gifted a first clear-cut chance to Leipzig, who had scored at least once in each of their previous ten matches. But Bürki, who found himself in a one-on-one situation with Werner, stood tall and managed to avert the danger (9).

The visitors responded almost immediately when Batshuayi, having been fed by Schürrle, shielded the ball strongly with his back to goal before spinning on a six-pence and shooting from 12 metres – only for Gulacsi to dive full-stretch to make the stop (10).

The ball then found its way into the Leipzig net twice – the first time it was Batshuayi who tapped home following an excellent counter involving Götze, Reus and Schürrle (16), before Batshuayi assisted with a backheel and Reus slotted home from 14 metres – but in both instances the offside flag was correctly raised.

It was during this spell, when BVB looked the likelier to get the opening goal, that Leipzig took a 1-0 lead. Keita regained possession in the middle of the park following a Dortmund throw-in and played it straight into the path of Augustin, who gave Bürki no chance (29).

BVB, who came into this one having won three of their previous four away games and were undefeated on the road since a 2-1 loss in Stuttgart in November 2017, remained unperturbed and continued to attack in imposing fashion, eventually levelling on the 38-minute mark. Dahoud played a perfect ball to Reus, who feinted in front of Gulacsi before rounding the Leipzig shot-stopper and restoring parity at 1-1 (38). It was Reus' third goal of the season since his return from a lengthy injury lay-off; nine of his last ten goals have put BVB 1-0 up or levelled at 1-1.

Borussia were the more active team after the interval too, largely pressing the hosts back into their own half but sometimes overdoing their link-up play. One such example came when Schürrle squared rather than shooting in the box on the 63-minute mark. But the visitors were very unlucky when, barely 60 seconds later, Dahoud cut the ball back from the byline towards an unmarked Batshuayi, who would have been left with a simple tap-in had it not been for a minimal deflection.

BVB had the match firmly under control and gave little away against a counter-attacking Leipzig side, whose first moment of danger in the second half came on 75 minutes when a cross was cut back behind Werner and Keita snatched at the follow-up.

It became a more open affair again in the closing stages as Leipzig now began to play for the three points in what continued to be a hard-fought and entertaining game until the end.

Outlook: 
Both teams will resume their UEFA Europa League campaigns on Thursday. BVB will play host to Red Bull Salzburg (kick-off at 19:00 CET, click here for tickets), before preparing for a Bundesliga meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (18:00 CET).

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