Leipzig close gap on leaders Bayern in German Bundesliga

Mönchengladbach (Germany), Feb 20: Second-placed RB Leipzig continued their excellent run this season with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in a Bundesliga clash here.

Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner scored for Leipzig on either side of the break here on Sunday evening while Jannik Vestergaard reduced the deficit for Monchengladbach towards the end, reports Xinhua news agency.

Leipzig are currently second on the Bundesliga table with 45 points, having won 14 of the 21 matches they have played so far. They trail league leaders FC Bayern Munich by five points.

Meanwhile, Monchengladbach slipped to the 11th place on the table with 26 points.

Monchengladbach started on a positive note while Leipzig failed to gain a foothold in the opening period. Monchengladbach however, were unable to make good on their chances

Leipzig punished Monchengladbach's wastefulness as they broke the deadlock through Forsberg, who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner from 16 meters following an assist from Werner in the 31st minute.

The hosts should have levelled before the break, as Leipzig defender Marwin Compper brought down Lars Stindl inside the box to concede a penalty. But Thorgan Hazard failed to beat Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi from the spot.

After the restart, things went from bad to worse for Monchengladbach as Leipzig's Timo Werner doubled the lead after slotting home Forsberg's through ball from a sharp angle into the far corner.

Dieter Hecking's men were able to score their consolation as Jannik Vestergaard headed home a corner kick to reduce the arrears in the 81st minute. 

But this  goal came too late for the hosts, as Leipzig secured their 14th win of the season.

"Leipzig were not better but they were more effective," Monchengladbach head coach Dieter Hecking said after the match.

Leipzig's coaching staff sang a similar tune.

"We were the slightly better two of two good teams," Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasenhuettl noted.

Elsewhere, Cologne and Schalke shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw as Anthony Modeste cancelled out Schalke's early opener through Alessandro Schoepf.

Cologne remain on seventh place in the standings whereas Schalke jumped to the 10th position.