RB Leipzig kicked off the new Bundesliga season with a commanding 3-0 home victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. Antonio Nusa was voted Man of the Match and Christopher Nkunku marked his return with an assist.

How did the match unfold?

Under manager Martín Demichelis, overseeing his first Bundesliga match, Leipzig took control early. Ridle Baku opened the scoring in the 26th minute, assisted by Tidiam Gomis. It was Baku's 25th Bundesliga goal. After the break, Antonio Nusa doubled the lead in the 49th minute, again set up by Gomis. Statistically, that goal had the lowest probability of the match at just eight percent. Rocco Reitz made it 3-0 in the 66th minute, finishing a pass from Christopher Nkunku. Nkunku had just come on for Gomis, marking his second debut for the club.

Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas prevented a heavier defeat with saves against Nusa, Willi Orbán, and Ezechiel Banzuzi. The visitors, coached by Eugen Polanski, rarely threatened Janis Blaswich's goal. A late headed goal by substitute Hugo Bolin in stoppage time was disallowed for offside following a VAR review. The expected goals (xGoals) were 3.96 for Leipzig and only 1.02 for Gladbach.

Who were the key performers?

Antonio Nusa was the standout player of the day. "Nusa scored a superb curling second goal and was denied by a string of Nicolas saves, finishing with several attempts on goal," the Norwegian said himself. His class in the final third and link-up play with Gomis earned him 30 percent of the fan vote for Man of the Match. Ridle Baku and Rocco Reitz also racked up high Fantasy Heroes scores. The fastest player was Tidiam Gomis, while Brajan Gruda led in pass efficiency.

Both managers made changes to their lineups. For Leipzig, Rocco Reitz replaced Johan Bakayoko following the team's DFB Cup win over Eintracht Trier the previous week. Gladbach brought in Kou Itakura and Tim Kleindienst as starters, while Daiki Hashioka made his Bundesliga debut.

What is the current context?

With this win, RB Leipzig sits in 4th place in the Bundesliga standings after one matchday, with three points and a goal difference of +3. The squad is dealing with several absences, however. Currently sidelined are Brajan Gruda, Christoph Baumgartner, Rocco Reitz, and Castello Lukeba. The full injury list is available on our injuries page.

RB Leipzig's next fixture is a home match against Hamburger SV on September 13, 2026. HSV currently occupies 15th place in the table. All upcoming matches can be found on the fixtures page.