Home loss to Leipzig

Match report:

VfB missed out on a point in their home match against RB Leipzig on Saturday afternoon at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, losing the eighth Bundesliga clash between the two teams by 2-0. The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute after an André Silva penalty, given for a handball by Konstantinos Mavropanos. VfB had good chances – especially in the second half, through Sasa Kalajdzic, Orel Mangala and Waldemar Anton – to level the score, before conceding what would be the final goal of the game after a Christopher Nkunku counterattack in the 70th minute.

Goals: 

11^th minute: Leipzig attack down the left. Nkunku crosses from the left side and the ball hits the outstretched hand of Mavropanos, positioned just a couple of yards away from Nkunku. Referee Daniel Schlager immediately points to the spot. Silva converts to make it 1-0.

70^th minute: A counterattack extends Leipzig's lead and kills the game off. After a long through ball to Nkunku, the Frenchman slots home to make it 2-0.

Post-match reaction

Sasa Kalajdzic: “Compared to our game the week before against Fürth, it was an improvement, but we’re still left empty-handed. It's annoying. We had the feeling that we were in the game and then the penalty came from nowhere. The second goal we conceded was a counterattack. Leipzig showed their quality. We should have made better use of our chances – I could have placed my header a bit better, even though the goalkeeper made a great save.”

Waldemar Anton: “We had our chances but didn't score. That's how you lose games like these against sides like Leipzig. Defensively, we played well for most of the game; we just weren’t focused enough in one or two moments. We have to approach the upcoming games the same way we did today, and concentrate for the whole 90 minutes.”