BERLIN: Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons scored first-half goals as RB Leipzig beat St Pauli 2-0 on Sunday to climb to fourth in the Bundesliga table.
The duo assisted each other’s goals as Leipzig secured their first league win in almost a month.
Simons put Sesko into space on the counter-attack, before the latter calmly cut inside a defender and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to give the hosts a 16th-minute lead.
Sesko returned the favour 10 minutes before half-time, pulling the ball back for Simons to fire home from inside the area.
The hosts were able to close out the win despite the 69th-minute sending off of captain Willi Orban for a last-man foul on St Pauli’s Elias Saad.
Leipzig now sit one point clear of fifth-placed VfB Stuttgart, with Freiburg two points further adrift in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Promoted St Pauli still sit seven points clear of the relegation play-off place with 13 games remaining.
Earlier, two goals in three first-half minutes from Myron Boadu took Bochum to a 2-2 draw at Holstein Kiel in a basement clash.
Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025