Papadopoulos back to haunt Leipzig as Hamburg win again
Hamburger SV celebrated back-to-back Bundesliga wins for only the second time this season as Kyriakos Papadopoulos scored against his former club in a 3-0 win at RB Leipzig.
RB Leipzig 0-3 Hamburger SV
Goals: 0-1 Papadopoulos (17'), 0-2 Walace (24'), 0-3 Hunt (90+3')
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Leipzig had two good early chances through Timo Werner, but it was Hamburg who gained the lead against the run of play. Bobby Wood's effort was turned behind by Peter Gulacsi, but former Leipzig defender Papadopoulos rose to send a bullet-header from the resulting corner into the net. Leipzig did not learn their lesson, though, and conceded an almost carbon-copy second, Walace this time getting his head to the ball a split-second ahead of Papadopoulos to double the guests' lead.
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The hosts needed to throw caution to the wind in the second half, and they had no qualms about attacking from the get-go. They relentlessly sought a way through the massed ranks of Hamburg defenders, but it was to no avail as Müller teed up Hunt for his 50th Bundesliga goal to seal the points for Markus Gisdol's charges, who climb above northern rivals SV Werder Bremen and out of the bottom three.
Man of the Match
Nicolai Müller's deliveries – not just from the two corners, which resulted in goals – were devastating. Although he did not get his own name on the scoresheet, he made a decisive contribution to HSV's third straight win in all competitions with three assists, including a selfless third.
Talking Point
Papadopoulos spent the first half of the season on loan at Leipzig, but left no doubts as to where his allegiances currently lie: after scoring against former club Bayer 04 Leverkusen a week ago, the Hamburg number nine put one past another ex-club, and celebrated emphatically.
Line-ups:
Leipzig: Gulacsi – Bernardo (71' Schmitz), Orban, Upamecano (31' Poulsen; 43' Selke), Halstenberg - Ilsanker, Demme - Keita, Forsberg - Sabitzer, Werner
Coach: Ralph Hasenhüttl
Hamburg: Adler - Sakai, Papadopoulos, Mavraj, Ostrzolek - Walace, Jung - Müller, Holtby (90+1' Ekdal), Kostic (83' Diekmeier), Wood (90+2' Hunt)
Coach: Markus Gisdol