Borussia Dortmund vs. RB Leipzig: top 5 previous meetings
Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig meet for the 14th time in their history on Matchday 6 of the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign and, although this fixture is still in its relative infancy, there have been some heavyweight encounters between the two thus far.
bundesliga.com looks at five of the best games between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig so far...
Leipzig 1-0 Dortmund (Matchday 2, 2016/17)
The very first fixture between these two teams came on week two of the 2016/17 campaign - Leipzig's first in the Bundesliga. It captured the attention of onlookers home and abroad as Matchday 2 pitted new money against old, the bright upstarts that had soared up the divisions going up against a team steeped in tradition and eight-time German champions. It was the former who would come out on top as Leipzig claimed an eye-catching first Bundesliga victory in their history.
Naby Keita proved to be the match-winner, popping up in the 89th minute to emphatically put now Werder Bremen man Oliver Burke's squared pass into the roof of the net from close range. It took the roof off the Red Bull Arena and set the tone for Ralph Hasenhüttl's men during a debut campaign that eventually resulted in a remarkable second-place finish. Emil Forsberg, Peter Gulacsi, Marcel Halstenberg, Lukas Klostermann, Willi Orban, Yussuf Poulsen and Timo Werner are all RBL survivors from that game still in the club's ranks, while Raphael Guerreiro is the only BVB representative that featured then and could also appear this weekend.
Watch: Leipzig 1-0 Dortmund from 2016/17
Dortmund 3-3 Leipzig (Matchday 17, 2019/20)
Matchday 16 of the 2019/20 season served up a thriller at the Signal Iduna Park as Leipzig fought to a draw that kept them top of the league. Chances of a point looked slim at the interval, with Dortmund's Julians - Messrs Weigl and Brandt - put them 1-0 and then 2-0 up, respectively, inside the opening 34 minutes.
Then Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann looked to have worked wonders with his team talk at the break, though, as his team came storming back into the match. Werner was the instigator, hitting a six-minute brace that had Leipzig back level within 10 second-half minutes. Marco Reus teed up Jadon Sancho to restore the hosts' advantage, but ultimately only claim a share of the spoils as Patrik Schick thumped home with 12 minutes left on the clock to finally round out a breathless encounter.
Watch: Dortmund 3-3 Leipzig from 2019/20
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Dortmund 3-2 Leipzig (Matchday 2, 2020/21)
Dortmund were able to hold on to their advantage the following season, but there would have been a genuine sense of deja-vu for those in attendance when Borussia again relinquished a two-goal lead. This time it was Reus that opened the scoring before Sancho struck against Leipzig once more, and Dortmund this time went over an hour before Nagelsmann's side stirred from their slumber.
Boyhood BVB fan Klostermann first pulled it back to 2-1 and Dani Olmo made it 2-2 by turning home from close range. It raised Leipzig hopes of leaving with at least a point, but Dortmund weren't to be denied this time around. Sancho claimed the winner with three minutes remaining to give Borussia a fifth successive victory as the team continued their late season renaissance under the guidance of local boy Edin Terzic.
Watch: Dortmund 3-2 Leipzig from 2020/21
Leipzig 1-4 Dortmund (DFB Cup final, 2020/21)
Terzic would again be the scourge of Leipzig and double down on his hometown hero status at the club by backing up UEFA Champions League qualification with DFB Cup glory that same season. Dortmund made light work of Leipzig in the final, with a comprehensive 4-1 victory as that man Sancho put Nagelsmann's team to the sword alongside partner in crime, Erling Haaland.
It was Leipzig's second time in the German Cup showpiece and their second attempt at claiming a first major trophy in their history. But any pre-match positivity was quickly sucked out of their supporters courtesy of Dortmund's three-goal, first-half blitz. Sancho got them up and running after just five minutes and added a second on the stroke of half-time to bookmark Haaland's second. Olmo pulled one back in the second half, but it was little more than a consolation as Sancho then teed up Haaland for his side's fourth in a rampant display from Dortmund's former dynamic duo in Berlin.
Dortmund 1-4 Leipzig (Matchday 28, 2021/22)
That cup loss was the second time Leipzig suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Dortmund and extended the former's winless run to eight matches (D2, L6). But Leipzig would earn redemption across the 2021/22 campaign as they completed the double over Borussia. A 2-1 victory on Matchday 11 - where Christopher Nkunku and Poulsen struck either side of Reus' equaliser - was emphatically backed up by a 4-1 win of Die Roten Bullen's own on Matchday 28.
A Konrad Laimer brace inside 30 minutes was backed up by another Nkunku strike to make it 3-0 before Donyell Malen pulled one back and Olmo eventually added the gloss. It was Leipzig's first league double over Dortmund in their history and helped swing the fixture back in their direction ahead of this year's showdowns. Dortmund still hold the historical edge, however, with seven wins from the 13 previous meetings. Leipzig have four wins and there have been two draws.
Watch: Dortmund 1-4 Leipzig from 2021/22
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