RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga title hopes suffered a blow as visitors Freiburg held them to a 1-1 draw when the German top-flight returned to action on Saturday after a two-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leipzig wasted a slew of great chances after falling behind until captain Yussuf Poulsen rose to head them level in the 77th minute, and they needed the assistance of the video assistant referee (VAR) to grab a point as Freiburg had a stoppage-time goal ruled out for offside.
Starting the day five points behind leaders Bayern Munich, Leipzig looked to have lost none of their sharpness during the shut-down, with striker Timo Werner looking particularly dangerous in the first half. However, Freiburg took the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute when Manuel Gulde got the last touch to guide home a corner, with the players celebrating his goal by bumping elbows rather than sharing high-fives and hugs.
Wolfsburg beat Augsburg 2-1
Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games with a 2-1 win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, moving up to sixth in the standings as the season restarted on Saturday inside an empty Augsburg Arena.
Daniel Ginczek’s stoppage-time winner secured the points after Augsburg’s Tin Jedvaj had cancelled out Renato Steffen’s first-half opener.
Augsburg were playing without their new head coach Heiko Herrlich on the sidelines as he was not allowed to attend the match after breaking quarantine by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.
Winger Ruben Vargas went close to giving Augsburg the lead with a low shot that nearly caught out goalkeeper Koen Casteels, but his initial block slowed the ball down enough for him to claw it back before it crept over the line.
At the other end, Wolfsburg’s players appealed for a penalty when Jedvaj’s attempted clearance inside the box hit his arm.
Wolfsburg took the lead two minutes before halftime when Steffen used the pace of a cross to head home from 15 metres out, giving diving keeper Andreas Luthe no chance to make a save.
The players did not celebrate as a group as part of social distancing protocols, but they could not resist the urge to give the Swiss a couple of high-fives and fist bumps.
The home side equalised from a second-half set piece when John Brooks’ headed clearance went the wrong way, came off goalkeeper Casteels’ hands and hit the bar before bouncing on the line where Jedvaj was on hand to head home.
Felix Uduokhai thought he had given Augsburg a 2-1 lead when he headed home from another set piece but the referee looked at the pitchside VAR monitor and ruled it out as Florian Niederlechner was offside and blocking the goalkeeper’s view.
Wolfsburg’s Admir Mehmedi had numerous chances to score their second, first with a volley which came off the post and again minutes later when a sweeping move forced Luthe to keep out a low, stinging effort with his feet.
However, the visitors capitalised in stoppage time when Kevin Mbabu’s low cross found substitute Ginczek inside the six-yard box and his poacher’s finish at the far post gave the visitors all three points. Augsburg remain in 14th place.
Dortmund thrash Schalke
Borussia Dortmund thrashed traditional rivals Schalke 04 4-0 to close the gap on champions and leaders Bayern Munich to one point as the Bundesliga restarted on Saturday after a two-month break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The outcome of the Ruhr derby, played with no spectators present as players’ voices echoed in the empty stadium, left second-placed Dortmund on 54 points from 26 games, behind Bayern who visit Union Berlin on Sunday.
