0-1, Forsberg PEN 66&#039;. 0-2, Werner 72&#039;. 0-3, Werner 77&#039;. 0-4, Selke 90+2&#039;.
Hamburger SV 0-4 RB Leipzig: Werner comes off the bench to lead visitors to huge win


It was a day to forget for the hosts.

Jonathan Walsh

Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg both run riot against Hamburger SV, as RB Leipzig secured a spectacular 4-0 victory.

Stale opening period

The opening exchanges between two sides at contrasting times in their club lives were extremely tight and tense. HSV have a very impressive record when it comes to playing newly-promoted teams, but had a flying René Adler save to prevent Bernardo from grabbing the opener on his Leipzig debut with a looping header.

That was the highlight of an otherwise turgid first period. Both sides struggled to create anything and even Leipzig, who were on top, couldn't bring a save out of Adler. The home side were completely out of ideas when it came to attacking, with Bobby Wood cutting a frustrated figure as their lone front-man.

Unfortunately it was fouls that were preventing any pattern of play from developing, with players on both sides guilty of tactical fouls to halt any potential breaks.

Second half showing leaves HSV shell-shocked

Werner was introduced in the second period and it was his persistent running behind the defence that ultimately handed his side the breakthrough after an hour. Following another lacklustre 15 minutes, he went through on goal before being brought down by Adler. Forsberg was tasked with converting, and did just that from 12 yards.

From there, the visitors grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and simply wouldn't let go. A free-kick towards the back post was headed back into danger by Willi Orban and perfectly into the path of Werner, who put his body on the line to force the ball home from close range and double their lead inside six minutes.

The final nail in the coffin was hammered in 11 minutes after the first goal was scored, capping off a period that HSV will want to forget in a hurry. Werner was sent racing into space by Forsberg, who returned the favour from his penalty assist. The former VfB Stuttgart man used his pace to blitz past the defenders and poke past Adler.

Three became four at the very end, as Davie Selke finished off a Forsberg pass to leave the HSV fans what on earth had gone wrong in the final half hour.