Red Bull Leipzig maintained their push for a top-four finish, narrowly defeating Heidenheim 2-1 at the Voith-Arena to make it seven Bundesliga games unbeaten (six wins, one draw).Kicking off with a record of four games without defeat (one win, three draws) – Heidenheim’s second-longest unbeaten streak this campaign – the hosts started positively, albeit without really troubling Péter Gulácsi in the opening exchanges. During a low-key first half, goalscoring opportunities were in short supply, with a tame back-post header from Tim Kleindienst perhaps the closest the hosts came to breaking the deadlock.The fact there were no first-half corners was an indication of just how little goalmouth action occurred before halftime, yet with 42 minutes on the clock, Leipzig seized the lead. David Raum found space down the flank, delivering a searching cross that was poorly dealt with by Benedikt Gimber, allowing Benjamin Šeško to pounce on the loose ball for his 10th Bundesliga goal of the campaign.Heidenheim needed a response after the restart but they suffered an early setback when Marvin Pieringer was forced off after a nasty landing. After a lengthy stoppage, Leipzig emerged with the greater attacking impetus, eventually prompting Frank Schmitt into a triple substitution. Those changes immediately paid dividends, as just 74 seconds after entering the field, Nikola Dovedan nodded in with his first touch following a set-piece routine.That equaliser set up an open finale to the contest, with either side looking capable of snatching all three points as Kleindienst improvised with an audacious chested effort on goal. Ultimately, it was Leipzig who netted the winner five minutes from time when Mohamed Simakan’s marauding run towards goal ended with a selfless square ball, giving Loïs Openda the simplest of tasks. Openda tucked into an open net once more in stoppage time, but he was swiftly denied by an offside flag as Die Roten Bullen snatched all three points to strengthen their claim for a UEFA Champions League spot.With a fifth-place finish now the lowest RBL could mathematically achieve, a spot at Europe’s top table may well be in the bag as the Bundesliga is likely to claim an extra qualification spot thanks to UEFA coefficient rankings. Meanwhile, Midtable Die Schanzer’s impressive home record against current top-five sides counted for little here, leaving them 10th in the table.BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 30FridayEintr.Frankfurt – Augsburg 3-1 (0-1)/Chaibi 55, Ekitike 61, Marmoush 90+5 – Vargas 13/SaturdayHeidenheim – RB Leipzig 1-2 (0-1)/Dovedan 69 – Sesko 42, Openda 86/Wolfsburg – Bochum 1-0 (1-0)/Wind 43/Koln – Darmstadt 0-2 (0-0)/Klarer 57, Vilhelmsson 90+1/Hoffenheim – M’ gladbach 4-3 (1-1)/Weghorst 36, Promel 58, Kabak 66, Stach 90+1 – Hack 39, 78, 89/19:30: (5.20) Union Berlin (3.70) Bayern (1.62)Sunday16:30: (5.30) Werder (3.90) Stuttgart (1.57)18:30: (2.50) Dortmund (3.60) Leverkusen (2.85)20:30: (2.65) Freiburg (3.25) Mainz (2.75)***odds are subject to change***
