Friday April 16, 2021
Only a draw against Hoffenheim
Non-goal drama is likely to rob RB’s last chance
In the title race, RB Leipzig has to accept another setback. Instead of shortening the lead of FC Bayern, the team of coach Nagelsmann messes up against Hoffenheim of all places.
Even the opponent had some pity on the Bayern hunters from RB Leipzig, who were thwarted by the video evidence. “According to the rule, he has to whistle the goal, but as a football fan I’m not always a friend of it,” said Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner after the 0-0 win at Saxony. Shortly before, Leipzig had celebrated the alleged winning goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. But referee Manuel Gräfe did not give the goal after the video study, as goal scorer Yussuf Poulsen had beheaded himself.
“Of course I’m not satisfied. Especially when you have a scene like the one at the end, where you think you will go home with a win. But that’s the way it is,” said Poulsen disappointed and accepted the referee’s decision. “The rule is like this. I get the ball in my arm. That is the right whistle.”
For the time being, Leipzig has reduced the deficit in the Bundesliga to leaders Bayern Munich to four points, but the record champions could pull away to seven points with a success on Saturday in Wolfsburg. Probably because of this, RB coach Julian Nagelsmann struggled with the dramatic final phase. “That was the negative side of the video evidence,” said the 33-year-old. “You are reduced from maximum emotion to minimum within a few minutes.”
The coach did not blame the referee either. But his team does. Because she had no chance in the first half and did not take advantage of the few opportunities after the break. “We had enough situations there to score goals,” emphasized Nagelsmann. In the end, you had too few aggressive runs in the penalty area. However, you don’t want to tick off the topic of championship entirely – at least as long as it is mathematically possible. “We believe in the championship. We have to do that until the end,” said Poulsen. If you don’t want to lose faith, games like against Hoffenheim have to be won in the future.
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