Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga

Ikoma Openda scored the only goal of the game as RB Leipzig edged out Heidenheim to temporarily top the Bundesliga on Sunday.

The Red Bull outfit are now a point clear of Bayern Munich, who play at third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt later Sunday.

“We are really strong together. Our objective is to be strong, to be like a family, like a team, and to show it on the pitch. That’s what we’ve shown since the start of the season,” Belgian striker Openda told DAZN.

“For sure, we want to stay top of the table after the international break.”

Heidenheim came into the game in eighth place after three wins in their opening six games, and frustrated Leipzig for long periods in the first half.

It was only at the end of the half that Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Mueller was called into action to deny Xavi Simons, who breached the hosts’ defence but couldn’t make a proper connection and the on-rushing Mueller smothered the ball.

But Leipzig found another gear just before the hour mark, slicing through the Heidenheim defence with precision.

The 19-year-old Norwegian Antonio Nusa was the architect, spotting Openda’s run with a perfectly-weighted pass, with Openda taking it in his stride, firing in at the near post, although there were questions Mueller’s positioning.

“It was a good goal for the team at a difficult moment in the game,” Openda added. “We were able to take back control of the game after that.”

Openda also struck the post a couple of minutes from time, with Leipzig surviving some late Heidenheim pressure to secure all the points.

Leipzig have now kept four straight clean sheets in the Bundesliga, not conceding in the league since the last day of August.