Substitutes pay off! 4-1 win over Greuther Fürth
RB Leipzig defeat SpVgg Greuther Fürth 4-1 on Matchday 9 of the Bundesliga | Hrgota with first-half penalty for the visitors | Poulsen levels early in second half | Forsberg, Szoboszlai and Novoa also on scoresheet
Fourth home win for RB Leipzig! Jesse Marsch’s side turned around a one-goal half-time deficit to defeat SpVgg Greuther Fürth 4-1.
The visitors performed strongly in the first half and Peter Gulácsi was forced into saves to deny Branimir Hrgota (16’) and Jeremy Dudziak (42’). Fürth then took the lead from the penalty spot when Nordi Mukiele was penalised for a coming-together with Jamie Leweling. Hrgota converted (45’).
RBL showed a fantastic response after the break, substitute Yussuf Poulsen scoring the equaliser in the 46th minute. Shortly after, the attacker was fouled in the area by Marco Meyerhöer and Forsberg converted on his 30th birthday to give his side a 2-1 lead (53’).
Like Poulsen, Dominik Szoboszlai increased the lead one minute after coming on (65’) before another substitute also got on the scoresheet. Hugo Nova scored with his first touch of the game in his professional debut after a Szoboszlai assist to round of a strong second-half performance and wrap up a 4-1 victory (88’).
Statistics
RB LEIPZIG:
Gulácsi (C) – Mukiele, Orban, Gvardiol – Henrichs (46' Simakan), Kampl (46' Poulsen), Haidara, Angeliño - Nkunku (85' Novoa), Forsberg (64' Adams) – Silva (64' Szoboszlai)
Unused substitutes: Martinez, Tschauner, Moriba, Wosz
SPVGG GREUTHER FÜRTH:
Funk – Meyerhöfer, Bauer, Viergever, Willems (72' Itter) – Griesbeck, Christiansen – Leweling, Dudziak (82' Barry) – Hrgota (72' Tillman), Itten (82' Abiama)
Unused substitutes: Burchert, Asta, Seufert, Sarpei, Green
REFEREE:
Christian Dingert (Gries)
YELLOW CARDS:
Angeliño (15'), Kampl (36')
GOALS:
0-1 Hrgota (penalty, 45'), 1-1 Poulsen (46'), 2-1 Forsberg (penalty, 53'), 3-1 Szoboszlai (65'), 4-1 Novoa (88')
ATTENDANCE:
28.000 | Red Bull Arena Leipzig
First half highlights:
1st minute:
Kick off in the Red Bull Arena.
2nd minute:
First goalscoring chance for the guests – Willems crosses from the left to the back post, where Dudziak heads over.
16th minute:
Willems delivers another cross, this time from a deeper position. Hrgota meets the ball but Gulácsi saves.
17th minute:
First chance for RBL falls to Silva, whose shot was blocked after the attacker received the ball from Angeliño.
21st minute:
Haidara shoots from 18 metres. The ball is deflected and ends up just slightly over the bar.
23rd minute:
The ball is in the Leipzig net, but the goal won’t stand. A cross from Leweling on the right resulted in a collision between Itter and Gulácsi, which the referee deemed unfair.
30th minute:
RBL can’t be pleased with their performance so far. Fürth are giving a good account of themselves, being brave in attack and strong at the back.
34th minute:
Angeliño crosses from the left and the ball goes narrowly past Nkunku and Forsberg – close!
42nd minute:
What a save from Pete! A ball from the left gets through to Dudziak, but our goalkeeper is on hand and pulls off a strong diving save to divert the ball wide!
43rd minute – penalty to Fürth:
Mukiele jumps for a header in the Leipzig area but collides with a standing Leweling. The referee points to the spot.
45th minute:
Hrgota steps up and sends Pete the wrong way to give his team the lead shortly before the break
Half time:
Fürth take a deserved lead into the break. The visitors have performed well going forward and at the back throughout the first 45 minutes.
Second half highlights:
46th minute:
Jesse Marsch makes two changes ahead of the second half. Yussuf Poulsen and Mohamed Simakan replace Benjamin Henrichs and Kevin Kampl.
47th minute, GOAL for RBL:
YES!! Perfect start to the second half! Poulsen receives the ball from Silva and shoots from around 14 metres. The ball is deflected and beats the goalkeeper! The assistant initially has his flag up, but VAR check shows no offside. Goal stands!
52nd minute, penalty to RBL:
Poulsen is brought down by Meyerhöfer. Penalty!
53rd minute, GOAL for RBL:
Birthday boy Emil Forsberg steps up and hands himself a birthday gift. A fantastic penalty tucked into the bottom left corner.
58th minute:
A completely different RBL performance when compared with the first half. Two big chances have been turned into goals in the opening quarter of an hour.
65th minute, GOAL for RBL:
There’s number three! And it’s another substitute with the goal! Nkunku with the ball in from the left and Szoboszlai finishes into the back of the net!
73rd minute:
RB have dominated the game in the second half. The visitors have had no chances to come back into the game.
79th minute:
Nkunku gets the ball in the area but doesn’t make proper contact and misses the target.
88th minute, GOAL for RBL:
4-1! Another substitute, another goal! This time it’s Hugo Novoa, who finishes Szoboszlai’s cross to score his first goal on his professional debut. The goal also makes him the youngest scorer in RBL history at 18 years, 8 months and 29 days!
Full time:
A perfect reaction to an underwhelming first half sees RBL pick up their third home league win in a row!