Leipzig beat Stuttgart to keep Bayern waiting for league title
BERLIN: Second-placed RB Leipzig made Bayern Munich wait to be crowned Bundesliga champions as Emil Forsberg neted a second-half penalty in a 2-0 home win on Sunday against 10-man Stutgart.
Defeat for Leipzig would have confirmed Bayern as German champions for the ninth straight season despite Hansi Flick’s side losing 2-1 at Mainz on Saturday.
“It was an important win for us,” said Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“A defeat would have put too much pressure on the fight for the Champions League and second place.
“It’s not 100 per cent safe, but it looks very good,” he added. Leipzig hold a seven-point cushion ahead of third-placed Wolfsburg with three games let.
Leipzig made sure the champagne went back on ice in Munich for at least another fortnight ater Stutgart played most of the game a man down.
“The game and the win were important because otherwise we would have been in an uncomfortable position,” said Leipzig midfielder Kevin Kampl, whose team next has a German Cup semifinal against struggling Werder Bremen on Friday.
“We’ll go into the game with complete engagement. We want to reach the final. It’s not going so well for Bremen, so they’ve nothing to lose in the cup,” Kampl said. “But the German Cup writes its own stories.”
With just 12 minutes gone, 19-year-old defender Naouirou Ahamada was shown a red card, upgraded from yellow ater a VAR review, for a rough tackle on Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara.
Haidara headed the hosts into the lead just 20 seconds ater half-time when the Malian midfielder smashed home a Dani Olmo cross.
Having been brought down in the area, Forsberg picked himself up and converted a penalty as Leipzig trimmed Bayern’s lead at the top to seven points with three games let.
The Bundesliga takes a break next weekend forcing Bayern to wait for another chance to clinch the title before they host Borussia Moenchengladbach on May 8.