RB Leipzig 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Simons and Openda strike for top-four contenders

Borussia Dortmund’s miserable season continued as they were beaten 2-0 at RB Leipzig, who boosted their hopes of a top-four Bundesliga finish.

Niko Kovac’s team went close through Serhou Guirassy in the early stages, but Leipzig soon took control as they looked to end their own four-match winless run.

Lois Openda rattled the crossbar before Xavi Simons put them ahead in the 18th minute.

Simons pounced when David Raum’s strike was parried by Gregor Kobel and Benjamin Sesko failed to turn the rebound in, sparing the striker’s blushes by lashing home.

Ridle Baku curled another effort against the crossbar as Leipzig continued to press, though Dortmund almost equalised against the run of play when Peter Gulacsi denied Karim Adeyemi.

The hosts doubled their lead after the interval through Openda, who was left unmarked at the far post from a corner and showed excellent technique to volley Simons’ delivery into the net in the 48th minute.

Maximilian Beier struck the woodwork twice in succession as Dortmund improved, but it was too little, too late as they slipped to a seventh defeat in their last 11 league games.

The win moves Leipzig up to fifth on 42 points after 26 games, level with fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who travel to Bochum on Sunday. Dortmund are 11th.

Data Debrief: Dortmund fire another blank

Kovac’s arrival at Dortmund has failed to inspire an improvement in their attacking fortunes.

They have now failed to score in four Bundesliga games in the second half of the season, having only fired a blank once before the 17-game mark.

Their 11 Bundesliga defeats this term are their most in any campaign since 2014-15, when they finished seventh in their final season under Jurgen Klopp (14).