FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin made three changes to the side that lost 3-1 at Augsburg last week. Manolis Saliakas, Elias Saad and Oladapo Afolayan came in for Lars Ritzka and Morgan Guilavogui, who started on the bench alongside fit-again Connor Metcalfe, and Robert Wagner (ill). The St. Pauli boss also rejigged his attack, with Eggestein operating as a lone striker and Saad and Afolayan patrolling the flanks. Leipzig coach Marco Rose made five adjustments after the 2-1 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid, including Yussuf Poulsen for Loïs Openda. In Péter Gulásci, Willi Orbán, Lukas Klostermann and Poulsen, the visitors fielded four players who started the last time the two sides met in February 2016, a second division game the Boys in Brown won 1-0.

As on that occasion, the first Bundesliga encounter kicked off under the lights in a cracking atmosphere. The Blessin XI hit the ground running and carved out the first chance of the game in the third minute. Johannes Eggestein crossed from the left to the unmarked Manolis Saliakas, who instead of shooting first time set the ball up for a left-foot shot, which allowed a defender to get the block in. The Boys in Brown were sharp in the tackle and every duel won was cheered frenetically. Some good pressing play saw Eggestein pull the trigger from a narrow angle, but Gulásci held on to it with aplomb.

Leipzig had much more of the ball in the opening stages but could do nothing with it because Blessin's charges not only defended with passion to keep the visitors well away from their penalty area but also made their presence felt in attack. With 17 minutes gone Elias Saad cut inside from the left, leaving two defenders in his wake before letting fly. Gulásci intervened at the expense of a corner, which Eric Smith delivered into the middle. The ball eventually found its way to Jackson Irvine via Carlo Boukhalfa und Hauke Wahl, and his diving header from five metres fizzed a couple of centimetres over the crossbar. Moments later, Eggestein had another go after another turnover in midfield, but his shot was too centrally placed and Gulásci gathered at the second attempt.

It was impossible to tell who was the Champions League outfit and who the newly promoted Bundesliga side, so good was the performance by the team in brown and white. Irvine went close again on 34 when Eggestein and Saad combined to switch the play from the left to Saliakas on the right and his cross was headed just wide of the left-hand upright by the Aussie midfielder. The visitors had to wait until the 41^st minute to register their first attempt on goal, but Benjamin Šeško's shot was no problem for Nikola Vasilj. At the other end, Afolayan wrongfooted two defenders on the edge of the area before going for goal, but Gulásci got down quickly to prevent the ball sneaking into the bottom right corner, Eggestein screwing his rebound effort well off target. David Raum had one last effort before the break, a first-time shot that flew wide, and then it was half-time. The Boys in Brown left the field to warm applause, with the home fans no doubt wondering how it was still goalless at the break.

Neither coach made a change at half-time, which was completely understandable from a brown-and-white point of view. The pattern remained much the same in possession terms after the restart, with the visitors continuing to lack the means to prise open the home defence, though Xavi Simons did try his luck from the left-hand corner of the penalty box five minutes in. Nikola Vasilj was alert to the danger, however. At the other end, Gulásci intercepted a square ball from Saad that was intended for Eggestein in the middle. The Blessin XI continued to press and Eggestein had a shot blocked by Orbán before Irvine went for goal from just outside the area when possession was won back, only to see his effort flash half a metre past the right-hand post.

Vasilj then pulled off a magnificent save to deny Christoph Baumgartner on the hour, after which the Boys in Brown launched a textbook counterattack, stringing together a series of passes before Treu's whipped-in cross was met by Afolayan on the volley just inside the box. Unfortunately, the ball took a deflection and flew past the left-hand upright. Leipzig responded with a triple substitution, among them Loïs Openda, who soon had a shot from the edge of the box saved by Vasilj. Blessin made a double switch soon after, introducing Adam Dźwigała and Morgan Guilavogui for Manolis Saliakas and Johannes Eggestein, who left the pitch to much applause.

With the game about to enter the final quarter of an hour, Saad cut inside from the left and set his sights on the far corner, aiming too high. Leipzig, now with André Silva and Benjamin Henrichs on the field, stepped up the pressure, but the Boys in Brown continued to defend with passion and repeatedly looked to break quickly whenever they won possession. It was Leipzig who threatened next, however, Openda cutting in from the left and unleashing a shot from 20 metres that Vasilj dealt with comfortably. Soon after, Silva smashed a shot wide left. In time added on, substitute Scott Banks could have won it for his side but steered his shot wide of the far post and that was that. Nevertheless, the Boys in Brown took the plaudits from the home crowd for an outstanding performance and the first point of the season.

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Wahl, Smith, Mets - Saliakas (Dźwigała 69'), Irvine, Boukhalfa (Metcalfe 82'), Treu - Afolayan (Banks 89'), Eggestein (Guilavogui 69'), Saad

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Leipzig

Gulácsi - Geertruida, Klostermann, Orbán, Raum (Henrichs 74') - Baumgartner (Nusa 61'), Haidara (Vermeeren 61'), Seiwald, Xavi Simons - Poulsen (Openda 61'), Šeško (Silva 74')

Head coach: Marco Rose

Yellow cards: Treu – Haidara

Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)

Attendance: 29,251

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters