Bundesliga: RB Leipzig beat Bielefeld to maintain pressure on Bayern Munich

Marcel Sabitzer scored the only goal of the game as RB Leipzig beat Arminia Bielefeld. The win means Julian Nagelsmann's side remain on the tail of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, who they face next.

Arminia Bielefeld 0-1 RB Leipzig, SchücoA rena,Bielefeld (Sabitzer46')

RB Leipzig kept up the pressure on Bayern Munich on Friday night, beating Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 to keep up the pressure on champions Bayern Munich.

Captain Marcel Sabitzer scored the only goal of the game just 57 seconds after halftime, tapping home Dani Olmo's low cross from close range.

In the buildup, head coach Julian Nagelsmann had spoken about the importance of good decision-making in the final third, something which he felt let his side down in the 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt last week.

But Olmo got it spot on here. The Spaniard was alert to win the ball high up the pitch and, within seconds, had burst into the penalty area courtesy of a neat return pass with Christopher Nkunku. He crossed low across the face of goal, and Sabitzer did the rest.

"We talked about winning the ball in the wider areas," the Austrian told DAZN. "And that's precisely where the goal came from."

"We were a bit too impatient in the first half," added Nagelsmann. "We wanted to be braver, create overloads and not be so reliant on possession. In the end, it wasn't a firework, but it was well deserved."

The Ortega Show

It was indeed no more than the visitors deserved after dominating a first half which could have been entitled The Ortega Show, such was the starring role that Arminia's German-Spanish goalkeeper Stefan Ortega played in keeping his team in the game.

A teaser trailer had been released last Sunday in Leverkusen showing the 28-year-old spectacularly tipping a Demarai Gray effort over the bar as Bielefeld won 2-1 to step out of the relegation zone. But the full episode aired in the prime time Friday night slot.

First, Ortega made himself big to save from Emil Forsberg after Olmo had played him in, before comfortably holding an Amadou Haidara effort two minutes later, and a Forsberg volley shortly after that. But the best was yet to come, as Ortega first tipped an Olmo drop kick over the bar and then, on the stroke of halftime, somehow deflected Christopher Nkunku's effort onto the crossbar.

RB had enjoyed an astonishing 83% possession in the first half — including a club record 163 passes from central defender Willi Orban — but Bielefeld, switching flexibly between defensive 4-4-2, 5-3-2 and 4-3-3 formations, had been solid.

And when the visitors did get through, Ortega was there — until Sabitzer's lightning strike after halftime, his 50th career goal for RB.

Kampl to miss title decider The result, and Bayern's win over Stuttgart, means that RB will go into the international break four points behind Bayern Munich. When the Bundesliga resumes in April, Bayern travel to Leipzig in what is shaping up to be a title decider.

"We've done our job. We've won," said sporting director Markus Krösche, referring to the top-of-the-table clash. "We can't influence anything else."

But RB will be without Kevin Kampl after the influential midfielder picked up a fifth yellow card with an unncessary foul on Fabian Klos in the 85th minute.