dpa
Berlin
RB Leipzig became the first team after 35 games spanning 15 months to beat champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday when they rallied from two goals down to a stunning 3-2 triumph which sent them top of the table.
Lois Openda’s brace from a 57th-minute tight angle effort and a low drive in the 80th completed the turnaround after Kevin Kampl’s first for the visitors from a diving header in first half stoppage time.
Leverkusen had earlier seemed on course towards a 36th league match without defeat from Jeremie Frimpong’s effort into the near corner in the 39th and Alejandro Grimaldo in the 45th, set up superbly by Florian Wirtz.
Long run finally ends But they fell to their first defeat since a 3-0 in Bochum in the 2022-23 season finale on May 27, 2023.
Xabi Alonso’s men had become the first team to go unbeaten over a full Bundesliga season of 34 matches en route to a maiden title last term, and won this season’s opener 3-2 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
But they have been shaky all season, winning the Super Cup against VfB Stuttgart on penalties after scoring a late equalizer, labouring to a 1-0 German Cup win at fourth tier Carl-Zeiss Jena, and also squandering a two-goal lead against Gladbach.
“We had the chances to win. The goals were too easy, apart from those we didn’t allow much,” Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah told Sky TV.
“We perform as a team. We defend and attack as a team. We were sleepy on their first goal.” Leipzig delight Kampl, who came through Leverkusen’s academy and started his professional career there, said: “It is special to win this match.
“There was a lot of willpower and we supported each other. We knew you can’t defend everything but attack with courage. The first goal was important. We told ourselves at half-time that we will get our chances.”
Leipzig coach Marco Rose was sent off midway through the first half for dissent and Leverkusen Victor Boniface was lucky not to see red as well earlier when he hit Amadou Haidara in the head when attempting an overhead kick.
Leipzig top, Dortmund held, Stuttgart woes Leipzig moved top of the table with a maximum six points, two ahead of several teams including Borussia Dortmund who were held 0-0 at Werder Bremen, finishing with 10 men.
Stuttgart’s difficult start into the season continued when last season’s runners-up had a swallow a stoppage-time 3-3 against Mainz after wasting a two-goal lead earlier.
Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Hoffenheim 3-1, Borussia Mönchengladbach won 2-0 at Bochum and Holstein Kiel were beaten 2-0 by Wolfsburg in their first ever top flight home match.
On Sunday, Bayern Munich take on last week’s leaders Freiburg and Heidenheim play Augsburg. Union Berlin beat St Pauli Hamburg 1-0 on Friday.
