American midfielder Tyler Adams returned to the field for the first time since the summer as RB Leipzig held onto the table’s first position on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
RB Leipzig blasted Augsburg and has a little breathing room after Jurgen Klinsmann’s Hertha Berlin drew Gladbach to continue his fine early tenure
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Bayern Munich again got teenage heroics to move third.
RB Leipzig 3-1 Augsburg
Adams’ first action in more than a half-year saw the 20-year-old go 86 minutes at right back. The New Yorker had two interceptions and won 7 of 10 duels while making 84 touches and being fouled four times.
He didn’t factor in the scoring, as Leipzig trailed to an 8th minute Florian Niederlechner goal until breaking out for three in the second half. Konrad Laimer, Patrik Schick, and Yussuf Poulsen scored, and RBL leads the table by two points.
Bayern Munich 2-0 Wolfsburg
USMNT center back John Brooks and the visitors put a scare into the reigning champs, but late heroics came from a familiar place as Bayern broke through for all three points.
Teenager Joshua Zirkzee came on as a late sub and again scored with one of his first touches, just like he did at midweek.
The 83rd minute marker was followed quickly by a Serge Gnabry goal, also just like midweek.
IT'S JOSHUA ZIRKZEE AGAIN!
The 18-year-old puts @FCBayernUS ahead with his first touch seconds after coming on! pic.twitter.com/4TgsN1ca69
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 21, 2019
Hertha Berlin 0-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
The new manager bounce is real in Berlin, where Jurgen Klinsmann has led Hertha to a 2W-2D-1L mark. The club was 3-1-7 when he took over, and this time got a point against second place Gladbach. Hertha kept Gladbach from manufacturing a single “big chance,” according to SofaScore.
The fixtures haven’t been easy: Borussia Dortmund (loss), Eintracht Frankfurt (draw), Freiburg (win), Bayer (win), and now Gladbach.
Elsewhere
Hoffenheim 2-1 Borussia Dortmund — Friday
Koln 1-0 Werder Bremen
Mainz 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Schalke 2-2 Freiburg
Fortuna Dusseldorf v. Koln — 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Paderborn v. Eintracht Frankfurt — Noon ET Sunday
STANDINGS
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| RB Leipzig | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 20 | 28 | 5-2-1 | 6-2-1 | 37 |
| Mönchengladbach | 17 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 7-1-1 | 4-1-3 | 35 |
| Bayern Munich | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 46 | 22 | 24 | 6-1-2 | 4-2-2 | 33 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 24 | 17 | 5-3-0 | 3-3-3 | 30 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 21 | 8 | 4-4-1 | 4-2-2 | 30 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 3-4-2 | 5-0-3 | 28 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 28 | -3 | 4-1-4 | 4-2-2 | 27 |
| SC Freiburg | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 23 | 4 | 4-2-2 | 3-3-3 | 26 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 3-4-2 | 3-2-3 | 24 |
| FC Augsburg | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 28 | 31 | -3 | 4-2-2 | 2-3-4 | 23 |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 5-0-4 | 1-2-4 | 20 |
| Hertha BSC Berlin | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 3-1-4 | 2-3-4 | 19 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 27 | -1 | 4-3-2 | 1-0-6 | 18 |
| FSV Mainz 05 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 25 | 39 | -14 | 3-0-5 | 3-0-6 | 18 |
| 1. FC Köln | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 32 | -13 | 3-1-4 | 2-1-6 | 17 |
| Werder Bremen | 17 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 41 | -18 | 1-2-5 | 2-3-4 | 14 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 35 | -19 | 2-1-4 | 1-2-6 | 12 |
| SC Paderborn | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 1-1-6 | 1-2-5 | 9 |
