Leipzig down Hoffenheim to go third in Bundesliga

Berlin, Dec 17 : Goals from Lukas Klostermann, Emil Forsberg and Mohamed Simakan secured Leipzig the tenth win of the season after moving 3-1 past Hoffenheim at the 15th round of Bundesliga.

The Red Bulls caught a bright start and pressed the visitors into defense as Xavis in-swinging corner kick allowed Yussuf Poulsen to unleash the first dangerous header on target with only two minutes played, reports Xinhua.

Poulsen and Xavi kept Hoffenheims defense busy but couldnt beat goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who was on guard twice.

Leipzig remained active but couldnt break the deadlock at the half-hour mark as Poulsen pulled wide from promising position.

Hoffenheim showed a sign of life moments later as Andrej Kramaric tested Leipzig keeper Janis Blaswich.

The hosts opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Lukas Klostermann latched onto Simakans deflected shot from very close range.

Leipzig piled on the pressure and should have doubled the lead but Xavi and Christoph Baumgartner remained wasteful in front of the target.

Hoffenheim then leveled the scores through Ozan Kabak, who nodded Robert Skovs pinpoint cross past onrushing Blaswich.

After the restart, Leipzig came out with its guns blazing and started an onslaught but still had to wait until the 66th minute when joker Emil Forsberg slotted home Lois Opendas through ball to grab the 2-1 lead.

The Swede remained in the thick of things and assisted with Leipzigs third goal as Forsbergs cross into the box dropped off the crossbar into the path of Simakan, who poked home the 3-1 to put the victory beyond doubt.

In the other matches, Borussia Dortmund dropped points after sharing the spoils with Augsburg following a 1-1 stalemate.Ten-man Wolfsburg returned to winning ways after beating last placed Darmstadt 1-0.Bochum flabbergasted Union Berlin after snatching a 3-0 victory, and Mainz lost to newly promoted Heidenheim 1-0.

Already on Friday, Werder Bremen played out a 2-2 stalemate with Borussia Monchengladbach.