Hofmann and Embolo on target as Gladbach stun Leipzig

Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 RB Leipzig
Goals: 1-0 Embolo 17' (assist: Stindl), 1-1 Nkunku 36' (assist: Silva), 2-1 Hofmann 45'+2 (assist: Embolo), 3-1 Hofmann 77' (assist: Beyer)

Still competing hard on three fronts, Leipzig put thoughts of a DFB Cup final and a Europa League last-four encounter to one side as they made the trip to North Rhine-Westphalia, hoping to increase their chances of a top-four finish. There were no such concerns for opponents Gladbach, Adi Hütter's men mainly focusing on finishing a largely disappointing campaign in the top half of the standings. With the pressure thus off, Gladbach rubber-stamped their early dominance here with a goal, the returning Lars Stindl playing a slick pass through for Embolo who thundered in his eighth goal of the campaign. Given Leipzig's shy showing inside the opening 45 minutes, Christopher Nkunku's tidy equaliser from Andre Silva's assist came as a surprise to the home fans. Not that they were disappointed for long. With Leipzig giving up possession in attack, the Foals burst out on the counter, with the alert Embolo able to pick out his teammate Hofmann in full flight. The Gladbach attacker subsequently in a one-v-one situation with Peter Gulacsi, a goal never looked in doubt.

Having won just one of their previous 11 encounters against Leipzig, Gladbach sensed the tide turning. The visitors were far from out of this game, however, and upped their efforts after the restart as they sought to peg the hosts back and avoid a second successive loss. Silva's header from close range brought the best out of Yann Sommer, the Swiss 'keeper showing superb reflexes to tip the ball over the crossbar. Again the men in red came, and their cause was aided considerably when Nico Elvedi was sent off for tripping Nkunku as the Frenchman appeared to be clean through on goal. With everything seemingly set up for the equaliser, Die Fohlen went off script. As they had done on several occasions, Leipzig gave the ball away far too easily and when it eventually made its way to Jordan Beyer, he picked out Hofmann who slammed in his second to put daylight between the teams. Sommer subsequently saved from Dani Olmo and Angelino to raise the noise levels inside the stadium, which erupted with joy on the final whistle. There was only despair for Leipzig, however, with Tedesco's men now looking up the table from fifth position with two games to go in the league.

• Nkunku has scored 18 goals this season. He's netted 11 in the second half of the campaign, with only Robert Lewandowski scoring more (15) in that time.
• Embolo has scored five goals in his last six games and eight in total this season, equalling his personal Bundesliga best.
• Gladbach received their first red card of 2021/22.
• Hofmann scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season, his highest-ever tally in a single campaign. The attacker is also Gladbach's highest scorer this season.
• Hofmann has netted five Bundesliga braces in his career, all scored for Gladbach and all at home.

Watch: Hofmann: "Nice to contribute"

Gladbach: Sommer - Beyer, Elvedi, Bensebaini - Lainer, Neuhaus, Kone (Kramer 89'), Netz (Scally 90'+3) - Hofmann, Stindl (c) (Friedrich 66') - Embolo (Plea 89')
Unused subs: Sippel, Ginter, Jantschke, Noß, Herrmann
Out: Benes (thigh), Thuram (hamstring)
Coach: Adi Hütter

Leipzig: Gulacsi (c) - Simakan (Klostermann 46'), Orban, Gvardiol (Halstenberg 33') - Mukiele (Forsberg 80'), Laimer (Szoboszlai 80'), Kampl, Angelino - Olmo - Silva (Poulsen 65'), Nkunku
Unused subs: Martinez, Henrichs, Adams, Novoa
Out: Haidara (knee)
Coach: Domenico Tedesco