RB Leipzig

How Bayern Munich handed RB Leipzig a giant reality check

Published Dec. 21, 2016 4:22 p.m. ET

Alex Dowd

Heading into this midweek Bundesliga slate, all anybody could talk about was RB Leipzig and whether the upstart club could legitimately pose a challenge to Bayern Munich. They were joint-top of the table and had hung with the giants all fall. On Wednesday, RBL got their chance to show their mettle at the Allianz Arena.

They fell flat on their face at the champions' doorstep.

Bayern Munich bum-rushed RB Leipzig's defense, bullying their way through to open the scoring in the 17th minute.

It was all downhill from there for RB Leipzig. Blood was in the water and Bayern were hungry for more. The Bavarians baited RBL into a loose pass out of the back. Naby Keita wanted nothing to do with the service as Bayern's Arturo Vidal pounced to force the turnover.

Just like that, the 26-time German champions were up by a pair. A shellshocked RB Leipzig didn't have a response, at least, not a very good one. Emil Forsberg saw it fit to rake his studs down the back of Philipp Lahm's leg in a head-scratching tackle, resulting in straight red card for the RBL midfielder. A half an hour in, the challengers were down a man and two goals.

A third for Bayern just before the stroke of halftime put the game on ice. The final 3-0 result ensure Bayern Munich would enter the winter break three points clear of RBL atop the Bundesliga table. After entering the day level on points, RB Leipzig came into Bayern's house and were immediately smacked in the face with a Dikembe Mutombo finger-wag.

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Does this spell the end of RB Leipzig as we know it? Of course not. They're a young team that has proven they can run in the Bundesliga, but they'll need time to mature if they intend to break up Bayern's four-year monopoly on the league trophy. Coming into the Allianz and having their lunch money stolen proved as much.

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