Without a win in 11 Bundesliga away matches, a trip to Leipzig wasn’t the ideal opening fixture for Gladbach, but they acquitted themselves well early on.
A healthy share of possession nearly bore fruit when Hugo Bolin fired Philipp Sander’s lay-off towards the near post, but Maarten Vandevoort touched it onto the woodwork before recovering to claw the spinning ball off the line.
However, the hosts used that as a wake-up call, seizing control of play and taking the lead just a few minutes later. Ridle Baku surged forward from the right and played a silky one-two with Tidiam Gomis, receiving it back behind the defensive line to confidently find the bottom-left corner.
There was little stopping Leipzig from there, and they would have been slightly disappointed not to be further ahead at the break, especially as Willi Orban thundered a header onto the bar just moments before it.
But Demichelis kept his side’s spirits up, and they pressed hard after the restart to claim the two-goal cushion which they craved. In a move starting with Rocco Reitz – a new signing from Gladbach – Leipzig moved fluidly up the field to Antonio Nusa, who entered the area with a stepover before opening his body to brilliantly find the far top corner.
The one Gladbach player who seemed particularly determined to stop Leipzig from getting out of sight was goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas, who soon made an unbelievable triple stop, keeping out Ezechiel Banzuzi from point-blank range.
The home side’s next came from an apt combo – the returning Christopher Nkunku slid through Reitz, who slotted between Nicolas’ legs before apologising profusely to fans of his former side.
Gladbach finally got their foot on the ball after that and had a couple of half-chances of their own, but even had they scored before the final whistle it would have been a mere consolation.
This is now an 11th Bundesliga season for Leipzig, and they are still yet to be defeated by the Foals at this ground (W7, D4).
Eugen Polanski, meanwhile, had a full summer to make his mark on the Gladbach squad, so the hierarchy’s patience may start to wear thin later in the season if it looks like they might be headed for a sixth successive bottom-half finish.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rocco Reitz (RB Leipzig)
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