RB Leipzig let Bayern and Rose off the hook

RB Leipzig 3 - 2 Borussia Mönchengladbach, Red Bull Arena
(Nkunku 57', Poulsen 66', Sorloth 90+2' — Hofmann 6', Thuram 19')

A late header from RB Leipzig's struggling big money signing Alexander Sorloth completed a deserved comeback win that keeps the gap to Bayern Munich to two points the spotlight on Gladbach head coach Marco Rose ahead of a German Cup tie against the team he'll coach next season, Borussia Dortmund.

After Bayern Munich's convincing win over Cologne earlier in the day, the hosts knew only a win would do. But, despite having the edge in the opening stages, they soon found themselves two down.

First Dayot Upamecano, who will join Bayern at the end of the season, was penalized for the sort of body-to-body shepherding of the ball that often goes unpunished in the box to allow Jonas Hofmann to squeeze in an unconvincing penalty. Then, Breel Embolo's header bounced off his strike partner Marcus Thuram and flopped past Peter Gulacsi.

Nagelsmann acted quickly, removing Marcel Sabitzer for Sorloth at the break. The Norwegian thought his luck had turned in front of goal when a clearance struck him on the arm and flew in, but the VAR ruled the goal out.

Roaring back

The reprieve was short lived for Marco Rose's visitors, with Christopher Nkunku turning in Sorloth's cross just before the hour mark. Nine minutes later, Yussuf Poulsen's low drive from just outside the box flew past Yann Sommer to level things up.

Sommer was the busiest man on the pitch in the closing stages, as Leipzig stormed forward in search of the winner. Just as it looked like the Swiss stopper would keep the Red Bulls at bay, Sorloth rose highest to nod home a left wing cross, despite Gladbach appeals for a push. Finally his luck had turned, and he had a second Bundesliga goal in his 21st appearance.

"With such a performance today, the self-confidence is naturally great, of course," said Poulsen on Sky after the match. "Gladbach is a top team and we deserved to beat them. We were clearly the better team."

Gladbach's players found it difficult to disagree with that: "We were sitting very deep, and it was only a matter of time before [Leipzig] scored," Hofmann admitted after the match.

The second half collapse means Rose's side have lost all three of their games since he announced his intention to move to Dortmund, who travel to Borussia Park to face Rose's current side in the quarterfinal on Tuesday.