Antonio Nusa and Christopher Nkunku star as RB Leipzig cruise past Borussia Mönchengladbach
Antonio Nusa scored a wondergoal and Christopher Nkunku marked his return with an assist as RB Leipzig comfortably beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 in Martín Demichelis' first Bundesliga game in charge of the club.
RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goals: 1-0 Baku 26 (assist: Gomis), 2-0 Nusa 49’ (assist: Gomis), 3-0 Reitz 66’ (assist: Nkunku)
Demichelis made one change from Leipzig's DFB Cup win over Eintracht Trier, with Rocco Reitz coming in for Johan Bakayoko to face his former club.
His opposite number Eugen Polanski, meanwhile, made two alterations for the Foals, handing Kou Itakura and Tim Kleindienst starts, while Daiki Hashioka made his Bundesliga debut.
Gladbach began confidently, but Leipzig gradually established control and took a deserved lead in the 26th minute. Ridle Baku played a neat one-two with Tidiam Gomis before slotting home from inside the penalty area for his 25th Bundesliga goal.
Ezechiel Banzuzi, Nusa and Willi Orbán all went close before the break, with Orbán's header cannoning off the crossbar, but Leipzig went into half-time with their slender lead intact.
Nusa's curler doubles advantage
Leipzig picked up where they left off after the restart, doubling their lead four minutes into the second half. Gomis flicked the ball to Nusa, who cut inside and curled a superb finish into the top corner from 17 metres to make it 2-0.
Moritz Nicolas then produced a string of fine saves to deny Nusa, Orbán and Banzuzi in quick succession, but the Foals could not hold out. Nkunku, on for his second debut after replacing Gomis, set up Reitz in the 66th minute, and the former Gladbach midfielder drilled home from 12 metres to extend the hosts' advantage.
Gladbach pushed for a consolation late on through substitute Franck Honorat and Hugo Bolin, whose disallowed effort in stoppage time was ruled out for offside by VAR, but there was little to shout about for the Foals on a frustrating afternoon for Polanski and his players.
Man of the Match: Antonio Nusa
Nusa scored a superb curling second goal and was denied by a string of Nicolas saves, finishing with several attempts on goal.
His class in the final third — including his link-up play with Gomis — that made him the standout performer and the fans' Man of the Match with 30 percent of the overall vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: RB Leipzig 3.96 - Borussia Mönchengladbach 1.02
Fastest player: Tidiam Gomis (Leipzig), 35.48 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 2-0 by Antonio Nusa (Leipzig), 8 percent
Pass efficiency: Brajan Gruda (Leipzig), +2.82
Fantasy Heroes: Ridle Baku (Leipzig, 261 Points), Rocco Reitz (Leipzig, 229 Points), David Raum (Leipzig, 221 Points)
