Leipzig dishes out more pain for dire Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund's miserable season continued as it was beaten 2-0 at RB Leipzig, which boosted its hopes of a top-four Bundesliga finish.
Niko Kovac's team went close through Serhou Guirassy in the early stages, but Leipzig soon took control as it looked to end its own four-match winless run.
Lois Openda rattled the crossbar before Xavi Simons put Leipzig ahead in the 18th minute.
Simons pounced when David Raum's strike was parried by Gregor Kobel and Benjamin Sesko failed to turn the rebound in, sparing the striker's blushes by lashing home.
Ridle Baku curled another effort against the crossbar as Leipzig continued to press, but Dortmund almost equalised against the run of play when Peter Gulacsi denied Karim Adeyemi.
The hosts doubled their lead after the interval through Openda, who was left unmarked at the far post from a corner and showed excellent technique to volley Simons's delivery into the net in the 48th minute.
Maximilian Beier struck the woodwork twice in succession as Dortmund improved, but it was too little, too late as it slipped to a seventh defeat in its past 11 league games.
The win moved Leipzig up to fifth on 42 points after 26 games, level with fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, which travels to Bochum on Monday (AEDT).
Dortmund, meanwhile, is 11th.
Kovac's arrival at Dortmund has failed to inspire an improvement in its fortunes.
