Leipzig’s title bid suffers ‘blow’
US international Tyler Adams scored his first Bundesliga goal on Saturday but RB Leipzig suffered a blow to their title hopes with a shock 3-2 defeat away to crisis club Mainz.
Adams, 21, opened his German league account with a tap-in, pouncing on the rebound after Marcel Sabitzer hit the bar to put Leipzig ahead early on.
A rare fumble from goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi allowed Moussa Niakhate to equalise for Mainz, but Marcel Halstenberg quickly restored the lead.
Niakhate equalised for a second time shortly before half-time, before Leandro Barreiro turned in a Danny Da Costa cross just after the break to hand second-from-bottom Mainz only their second win this term.
“It’s a blow, that’s for sure, the title isn’t really in our heads at the moment,” said Leipzig captain Willi Orban after his side missed the chance to move within a point of league leaders Bayern Munich.
Bayern, who were to play Schalke last night (Thai time), can now pull seven points clear at the top after third-placed Bayer Leverkusen also dropped points with a 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg.
Leverkusen started furiously, but Wolfsburg were more clinical and took the lead through a Ridle Baku header on 35 minutes.
Manchester United loanee Timothy Fosu-Mensah came on at half-time for Leverkusen to make his Bundesliga debut, but his team remained toothless in the second half.
“We lacked imagination today,” said Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky.
The win saw Wolfsburg break into the top four, leapfrogging both Borussia Dortmund and high-fliers Union Berlin, who fell to their second defeat in a row with a 2-1 loss away to Augsburg.
Florian Niederlechner broke his 16-game goal drought to put Augsburg in front on 17 minutes, before Marcus Ingvartsen drew Union level with a precise finish.
Niederlechner restored the lead just after half-time, before giving away a penalty with a foul on Grischa Proemel.
Yet his blushes were spared by keeper Rafal Gikiewicz, who saved Ingvartsen’s spot-kick to deny former club Union a point.
Union’s defeat allowed in-form Eintracht Frankfurt to jump to sixth with their 5-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Andre Silva put Frankfurt ahead on 25 minutes, Filip Kostic doubled the lead with a sumptuous long-range effort two minutes later, and Kostic set up Silva for Frankfurt’s third.
Bielefeld hit back through a Sergio Cordova header, but an own goal from Joakim Nilsson and a goal from Real Madrid loanee Luka Jovic sealed the win for Frankfurt in the second half.