RB Leipzig held at home by gritty Hamburg side
A Hamburg side under new management earned their first point of the year with a steely performance in a 1-1 draw away to RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Leipzig 1-1 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Bruma (9'), 1-1 Kostic (29')
Leipzig began at their customary furious pace as they looked to continue their excellent home form this season and wasted little time in taking the lead. Kevin Kampl robbed Aaron Hunt of possession in midfield and fed it to Marcel Sabitzer wide on the right. The Austrian Player of the Year for 2017 curled a superb cross to the back post, where was headed it in by Bruma. Ralph Hasenhüttl's side continued to dominate, but Hamburg equalised against the run of play when Filip Kostic latched onto Gideon Jung's through-ball before rounding Peter Gulacsi to tap in.
That goal - HSV's first in 2018 - energised the visitors and their belief grew further in the second half as they held their own against a strong home side, although they struggled to create any chances. Still, the best opportunity for a winner fell to the guests late on following a superb run by Kostic, but this time he was unable to get the better of Gulacsi from an acute angle. Both teams kept attacking until the final whistle but ultimately a draw was a fair result, even if a point is of little use to either side in their respective positions at opposite ends of the table.
Man of the match
Kampl was outstanding in midfield for the hosts; aggressive in his challenges, always available to receive the ball and constantly driving forward in search of openings.
Match stats
- Bruma's strike was the earliest Leipzig have scored this season. It was his first headed goal in the Bundesliga.Kostic is now Hamburg's leading scorer this term with three goals.Hasenhüttl's side have only won one of the last seven games (and only picked up six points in that time).Both Leipzig and Hamburg have conceded 29 goals this term.For the first time this season, Hamburg did not lose after falling behind. HSV defender Dennis Diekmeier is made his 200th top-flight appearance – he has never scored a goal.
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Line-ups
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi - Laimer, Orban (c), Upamecano, Klostermann - Demme (Keita 58'), Kampl - Sabitzer, Bruma (Kaiser 81')- Werner, Augustin (Poulsen 71')
Unused subs: Mvogo, Bernardo, Konate, Ilsanker
Absentees: Forsberg (stomach muscle), Halstenberg (knee)
Coach: Ralph Hasenhüttl
Hamburg: Mathenia – Jung, Papadopoulos (c), van Drongelen – Diekmeier, Sakai, Walace (Hahn 90+4'), Douglas – Hunt (Salihovic 85'), Wood (Arp 77'), Kostic
Unused subs: Pollersbeck, Mavraj, Janjicic, Ito
Absentees: Müller (knee ligaments), Ekdal (knee ligaments)
Coach: Bernd Hollerbach