The scene after Loïs Openda's dream goal spoke volumes: all the RB Leizpig players ran to coach Marco Rose and hugged him. With the 3:0 (1:0) in the DFB Cup round of 16 against Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig not only made an impressive statement in the crisis, but also saved the popular Rose's job for the time being.
Benjamin Sesko (31') and Openda (50', 58') scored the goals for the Saxons in front of just 37,187 spectators - a season record - to secure a deserved place in the quarter-finals. In contrast, there was surprisingly little from Frankfurt, who have been outstanding in the Bundesliga for weeks.
There was no sign in Leipzig of one of the teams with the weakest form currently facing one of the strongest. At least not in the intended distribution of roles. It was not Frankfurt, who had not been beaten in nine games, who dominated proceedings. It was Leipzig - and thus the team that has lost five of its last six competitive matches.
Frankfurt didn't get into the game at all
Unlike recently in the Bundesliga and Champions League, RB got off to a highly focused start. Eintracht did not get into the game at all because the pressing was right and so was the tackling rate. Leipzig pinned their opponents back in their own half, almost like in the good old days. It was therefore only logical that Rose's team took the lead.
After a wonderful solo run, Sesko also got around Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp and slid the ball flat into the net. Almost everything that RB had missed in the desolate 5-1 defeat to Wolfsburg was on show against Frankfurt. Eintracht, on the other hand, could not keep up with the fight and passion of the Saxons.
The team of coach Dino Toppmöller could not be blamed at all at the beginning, only that they acted a little too passively. Goal scorers Hugo Ekitiké and, in particular, Omar Marmoush, who has been outstanding for months, were unable to get into the game because Leipzig consistently attacked them.
Demonstrative celebration with Rose
The strong Antonio Nusa penetrated the penalty area on the left and pushed flat into the center, where the incoming Openda scored from close range to make it 2-0. A short time later, the Belgian followed up brilliantly from distance and hammered the ball into the net to seal the win. At this point at the latest, Eintracht could be accused of a great deal of carelessness.
The Leipzig professionals, on the other hand, demonstratively stormed towards their badly counted coach Rose after the goal and cheered arm in arm with him. Frankfurt at least ventured forward a little after that, but the Hessians never really posed a threat to the hosts. Ekitiké tried his luck from distance in the 80th minute, but his shot was no problem for RB goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt.
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