Five-star Bulls bounce back against basement boys HSV

RED BULL ARENA, LEIPZIG (Bulinews): RB Leipzig ended a two-game losing streak in all competitions with a much-needed 5-0 victory over Hamburger SV at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday.

Martin Demichelis’ side broke the deadlock 17 minutes in with the game's first shot on target. Brajan Gruda slipped a clever pass to Ezequiel Banzuzi on the right, and the winger squared the ball across goal for Tidiam Gomis, who calmly finished at the near post to give Leipzig the lead.

Things got even better for Leipzig – and worse for HSV – when Antonio Nusa doubled the advantage in the 28th minute. On his first Bundesliga start for HSV, Shafiq Nandja gifted the ball to Nusa while attempting to play out as the last man. Despite the defender's efforts to recover, the Norwegian international fired home to make it 2-0.

Leipzig suffered a setback before the break, however, as Assan Ouedraogo was forced off with shoulder pain. Having only recently returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, the young midfielder was replaced by Christopher Nkunku.

HSV struggled to create real opportunities before the break, with Nicolai Remberg’s 44th-minute shot, comfortably saved by Vandevoordt, the closest they got to getting back into the game before half-time.

The visitors came much closer early in the second half when David Møller Wolfe unleashed a shot from inside the box, but Vandevoordt was equal to it, just as he was around five minutes later when Zakaria El Ouahdi tried his luck from a tighter angle.

At the other end, Christopher Nkunku almost finished off a slick passing move in spectacular fashion around the hour mark, but his acrobatic effort missed the target.

After Patson Daka and Nkunku came close at either end, Willi Orban ultimately killed the game off when he met an Antonio Nusa cross at the back post to make it 3-0.

Leipzig weren't done yet, though, and extended their lead to make it 4-0 shortly after. Nusa was once again the provider, picking out Christopher Nkunku, who went on to score his first goal since returning to Leipzig on loan from AC Milan.

Rômulo then added a fifth after being played through on goal, rounding Daniel Heuer Fernandes before calmly finishing into the empty net.

With the win, Leipzig climbed to fourth in the Bundesliga table, while Hamburger SV remain rooted to the bottom with no points or goals to their name.