A tough rival, but a win in the end!

The 62nd Bundesliga season began with an intense win at home against VfL Bochum, who were eager to fight for a point till the very end.

The heat wave sweeping across Germany placed the temperature at 33 degrees celsius at the Red Bull Arena for the Matchday 1, meaning the match against last season's Relegation winners would have an extra caveat for manager Marco Rose and the coaching staff. The tension was palpable among all involved, including the referee Benjamin Brand.

Never was it more obvious than on the 84th minute, when our captain Willi Orban was sent off after a last-ditch attempt to prevent a Bochum goal.

However, the big news of the match was that Antonio Nusa, who managed to score his first goal with RB Leipzig in the DFB Pokal last week, has put his first goal in the Bundesliga as well. This 1-0 would be enough to see off the VfL and the Red Bulls keeping the three points in Leipzig.

Match facts

Antonio Nusa scored his second official goal with RB Leipzig in his second match, again coming from the bench.

The home-streak against Bochum extends for another match: 6 wins in 7 matches, still undefeated.

Willi Orban won't be available for the crucial game against Bayer Leverkusen next Saturday, due to his red card suspension.

Starting Lineups

RB Leipzig

Gulacsi - Simakan (55. Henrichs), Orban (C), Castello Jr., Raum - Kampl, Seiwald (55. Nusa) - Xavi, Haidara (75. Klostermann) - Openda (86. Baumgartner), Sesko (75. Poulsen)

Substitutes

Vandevoordt - Elmas, Silva, Gebel

Only one change rom head coach Marco Rose in comparison to the Essen match: Castello Jr. will take Lukas Klostermann's place in the starting formation.

Christoph Baumgartner and Eljif Elmas (both recently recovered from injury) are in the bench to give Marco more alternatives during the course of the match.

VfL Bochum

Drewes - Wittek, Masovic, Medic (86. Oermann), Passlack - Sissoko, Bero, Losilla (71. Pannewig), Daschner (63.) - Hofmann (71. Balde), Broschinski (86. Bamba)

Substitutes

Horn - Gamboa, Loosli, Elezi

Bochum coach Peter Zeidler also makes only one change to the VfL Bochum squad fielded against Jahn Regensburg in the DFB Pokal:New signee Medic (from Ajax Amsterdam) will start in defense instead of Loosli.