Leipzig down Bielefeld in Bundesliga

BERLIN: Leipzig closed the gap to Bundesliga frontrunners Bayern Munich after edging Arminia Bielefeld on Friday thanks to Marcel Sabitzer's goal.

From the kick-off the visitors left no doubt that they wanted to take all three points back home, as Dani Olmo came close after just four minutes, before Emil Forsberg tested Bielefeld goalkeeper Stefan Ortega eight minutes later.

Bielefeld focused on their defense but once the hosts approached Leipzig's danger zone, they tried to find success with long-range efforts. However, neither Fabian Klos nor Cedric Brunner was able to threaten Leipzig custodian Peter Gulacsi with 20 minutes gone.

As the match progressed Leipzig controled possession and let the ball do the work, but Bielefeld's well-positioned defense gave the visitors a hard time.

Leipzig should have opened the scoring before the break but Marcel Halstenberg wasn't able to head home from a promising position, while Ortega tipped Christopher Nkunku's dangerous effort from a tight angle onto the bar, resulting in a goalless stalemate at half-time.

After the restart, Leipzig made a fairy tale start as Olmo's good build-up work and cut-back pass into the box allowed Sabitzer to break the deadlock from inside the box.

Although Leipzig gained momentum, the game continued in the same fashion as the first half. The visitors remained on the front foot and dominated possession while Bielefeld kept all its men behind the ball.

The hosts eventually created a half-chance on 56 minutes, when Fabian Klos pulled wide from the edge of the box.

It remained Bielefeld's only noteworthy chance of the second half, while Hwang Hee-chan and Nkunku lacked in accuracy to beat Ortega in the closing stages.

With the hard-earned victory, second-placed Leipzig close the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to one point. Meanwhile, Arminia Bielefeld stay in 15th position and within touching distance of the relegation zone. Agencies

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