RB Leipzig secure Champions League football with victory over St. Pauli
| Willi Orbán and David Raum celebrate the former’s goal vs. St. Pauli | Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images |
Strikes either side of half-time from Schlager and Orbán looked to have Leipzig cruising towards a comfortable afternoon before Abdoulie Ceesay’s late effort set up a nervy finale, although the visitors’ goal ultimately proved nothing more than a consolation.
Knowing victory would mathematically confirm Champions League qualification, Leipzig started aggressively and immediately pinned St. Pauli deep inside their own half. The visitors struggled to escape the relentless pressure during the opening exchanges as Die Roten Bullen dominated possession and territory.
The hosts carved out a huge opportunity within the first ten minutes. Rômulo won possession high up the pitch before feeding Yan Diomande down the flank, with the winger driving a dangerous low cross into the area. Christoph Baumgartner met it first time and forced a strong save from Nikola Vasilj before a frantic scramble followed in the six-yard box. Ridle Baku was unable to force the loose ball over the line as St. Pauli somehow survived.
Despite Leipzig’s dominance, their failure to convert chances gradually allowed St. Pauli to grow into the game. Alexander Blessin’s side became more confident as the first half wore on and looked set to frustrate the hosts heading into the interval.
However, Leipzig finally found the breakthrough in stoppage time through departing midfielder Xaver Schlager in what was his final home appearance for the club. David Raum’s corner caused chaos inside the penalty area and, after the initial header dropped kindly, Schlager reacted quickest to smash the ball into the top corner from close range and send the Red Bull Arena into celebration.
Leipzig carried that momentum into the second half and effectively killed the contest off just nine minutes after the restart. Once again it was a David Raum set-piece that caused problems, with the delivery finding captain Willi Orbán, who guided a composed header into the far corner to double the advantage at 2-0.
Ole Werner’s side thought they had wrapped the game up completely shortly after the hour mark. Rômulo burst in behind the defence before squaring for Brajan Gruda to finish confidently, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside and St. Pauli handed a brief reprieve.
The visitors then gave themselves a glimmer of hope with four minutes remaining. A hopeful ball into the box was only partially cleared by the Leipzig defence, allowing Jackson Irvine to loop a header back into danger for Abdoulie Ceesay. The forward allowed the ball to run across him before drilling a low finish beyond Maarten Vandevoordt to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
St. Pauli pushed forward during the closing stages, but Leipzig held firm through three minutes of added time to return to winning ways and officially secure Champions League football for next season.
For St. Pauli, the defeat extends their winless run to nine matches and leaves their survival hopes hanging by a thread heading into the final day, with the Hamburg side now sitting inside the bottom two.
