Leipzig woes continue in loss to Bochum in Bundesliga
Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol, right, blocks Bochum's Takuma Asano's shot during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and RB Leipzig at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in Bochum, Germany, Saturday March 18. 2023. Credit: AP/David Inderlied
BOCHUM, Germany — Still reeling from its 7-0 loss to Manchester City in the Champions League, Leipzig was beaten 1-0 by lowly Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Coach Marco Rose had spoken of a “realigned” Leipzig team which had put the Manchester ordeal behind them, but the loss showed Leipzig still has work to do. Depending on results elsewhere Sunday, the latest loss could leave Leipzig 10 points off the lead and outside the Champions League places after this weekend.
Bochum's goal was a world away from Erling Haaland's spellbinding five-goal haul for City, but a reminder to Leipzig of the need to do simple things well, especially defending set pieces. A long throw-in was flicked on and Erhan Mašović eventually headed in a rebound after a save from Leipzig keeper Janis Blaswich. Leipzig hit the post in stoppage time.
A 3-1 win over Hertha Berlin relieved some of the pressure on American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo after he started life at Hoffenheim with five losses. Hoffenheim's first two goals came from Andrej Kramarić's penalties, the first awarded for handball and the second for a trip on Ihlas Bebou, who then scored the third after Hertha failed to deal with a long pass.
Matarazzo started the season as Stuttgart coach before being fired after a poor run in October. Hoffenheim dropped to the bottom of the Bundesliga table after losing all five previous games under Matarazzo and had scored just twice in his tenure before Saturday.
Relegation-threatened Schalke extended its unbeaten run to eight games in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Augsburg. Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 1-0 with a goal from Omar Marmoush, who refused to celebrate after spending last season on loan at Stuttgart. Wolfsburg moves up to seventh and Stuttgart drops to last place.
Borussia Dortmund plays Cologne later Saturday, looking for a win to take top spot from Bayern Munich before Bayern plays Sunday.
Bochum's Erhan Masovic celebrates after scoring to 1-0 during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and RB Leipzig at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in Bochum, Germany, Saturday March 18. 2023. Credit: AP/David Inderlied
