RB Leipzig claims Bundesliga top spot at Christmas break

Bundesliga has seen its most exciting season in years with both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund not being on the top of the table for the first time in nine years. This time RB Leipzig is the team to catch ahead of the winter break.

A comfortable 3-1 win against Augsburg on Saturday secured an informal ‘herbstmeisterschaft’ (autumn championship) for Leipzig and they are two points clear at the summit with Monchengladbach drawing with Hertha Berlin.

Defending champions Bayern Munich are four points off the top, grabbing the third place, with Dortmund and Schalke a further three points back. Previously, in the 2009-10 season, it was Bayer Leverkusen, who topped midway but the season ended with Bayern as champions.

Since then, it has always been Bayern Munich, who have led the way at Christmas except for Dortmund, who were the front-runners in 2010-11 and 2018-19 season. 

Julian Nagelsmann’s Leipzig showed great courage to come from three goals behind, scoring in merely 22 minutes and beat Augsburg 3-1. 

The in-form Timo Werner said," It was looking like one of those games for a long time. We had lots of chances but the ball just didn’t want to cross the line. But we managed to turn it around. It shows how far we have come as a team.”

When asked about Leipzig’s position, Werner added,” Our league standing is just a snapshot and it ultimately doesn’t count for much. Nevertheless, we’re proud to go into the winter break top of the table.”

Borussia M’gladbach have been another surprise package in the league, sitting just two points behind the league leaders. They had a chance to be level in points with Leipzig but a draw at Hertha Berlin spoiled the party. 

However, their current position shows how consistent they have been in the first-half of the season being two points ahead of the defending champions, Bayern Munich and four points clear off Dortmund.

However, a Champions League qualification will be difficult with both Munich and Dortmund looking to claim the top spots and also, Schalke who are equal in points with Dortmund. 

It will definitely be a tough challenge and M’gladbach should look to keep their heads cool with a long run of games still to come.

Bayern are unbeaten in their last four games. A good second half of the season is all that the team would be looking forward too. 

With Lewandowski and Javier Martinez out injured, Bayern will have to make sure no further points are dropped to reclaim the Bundesliga title.

Borussia Dortmund suffered a shocker as they lost to Hoffenheim in a thrilling 2-1 encounter, conceding two late goals. But Favre’s men dominated the game overall and will look to convert the several half-chances for a successful second-half of the season. 

They are currently in the fourth position with 30 points, seven behind the league leaders, RB Leipzig.

featured image credits- Fox Sports