An excellent late strike from Brajan Gruda on Sunday snatched RB Leipzig a 2-2 draw at home to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Goals from Mohamed Amoura and Mattias Svanberg either side of a Yan Diomande strike had Wolfsburg on course for victory, but the Brighton & Hove Albion loanee’s curled effort in the 89th minute grabbed the hosts a share of the spoils.
Gruda, making just his third Leipzig appearance, was crucial in both goals as Leipzig moved two points behind fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart and one ahead of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who have a game in hand.
Photo: EPA
“We conceded unnecessary goals. This is a bitter result for us,” Gruda told DAZN.
Leipzig, stung after suffering a DFB-Pokal elimination by Bayern Munich last week, were dominant in the opening half.
Only some spectacular saves from Kamil Grabara kept the hosts at bay, with Diomande, Gruda and Konrad Harder all forcing stops from the Poland goalkeeper.
Amoura stunned the hosts with a long-range effort just after halftime, blasting in from the edge of the penalty area.
First-half hero Grabara invited Leipzig back into the game with 20 minutes remaining when he passed directly to Gruda, who laid it off calmly for Diomande to slam home.
Wolfsburg retook the lead eight minutes later, Jeanuel Belocian unpicking the Leipzig defense with a simple pass for Svanberg to score.
Gruda was again well-placed for Leipzig’s second goal when he pounced on a loose ball in the Wolfsburg penalty area before curling a fine effort into the top corner.
Earlier on Sunday, a late Alexis Claude Maurice penalty fired Augsburg to a 1-0 home victory over rock-bottom Heidenheim, lifting the hosts six points clear of the relegation zone.
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