Leverkusen outclass Leipzig to go 3rd in Bundesliga

A slick performance and goals from Florian Wirtz, Moussa Diaby and Jeremie Frimpong saw Bayer Leverkusen outclass midtable RB Leipzig 3-1 on Sunday and move into the top three of the Bundesliga.

Last season's runners-up Leipzig were still missing goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, defender Willi Orban and coach Jesse Marsch as part of a coronavirus outbreak while their local authority ruled they had to host the match without fans amid the latest wave of the pandemic.

The ghostly atmosphere did not deter Leverkusen, however, who needed only eight minutes to find the net though Diaby's goal was ruled out for offside.

Leipzig did not heed the warning and teenage midfielder Wirtz continued his stunning season with his fifth goal of the campaign in the 21st minute. A simple long ball exposed the home defence and he finished well.

More poor defending allowed Diaby to fire in from the edge of the box before the break but Leipzig did show life as Andre Silva headed in just after the hour.

But Frimpong, aided by a deflection, immediately restored the two-goal lead and Diaby struck the post as Leverkusen threatened to run away with it.

"Another small step forwards that will definitely give us a lot of self-confidence," Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah told DAZN, though he warned: "We should not look at the table now. The table only counts at the end."

A needless handball from Edmond Tapsoba gave Dominik Szoboszlai the chance to add some respectability from the spot but his shot hit the post and Leverkusen easily saw out the win.

"I find it hard to explain things that we always bring a bad performance after a good one," Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer said of the contrast to the midweek 5-0 romp over Club Brugge. "We should start to bring a certain consistency otherwise it'll be difficult."

Leverkusen are seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who won 1-0 against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday after second-placed Borussia Dortmund triumphed 3-1 at Wolfsburg. Bayern top the table by a point before travelling to Dortmund next weekend.

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka went from villain to hero with a towering injury-time header earning a 2-1 Bundesliga win over Union Berlin on Sunday.

Ndicka rose highest in the box to power in Filip Kostic's 95th minute cross and secure a much needed victory for Eintracht, who stay 12th but are now within two points of Union in sixth, the last automatic European place.

"That highlights how we never give up," Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner said. "In the end it was deserved. Insane."

It was a stunning turnaround for Ndicka who appeared to have cost his side the win when he fouled Sheraldo Becker in the 62nd minute to allow Max Kruse to equalize from the penalty spot.

That came completely against the run of play and punished Eintracht for a series of missed chances after Djibril Sow's first half opener.