Leipzig came into the contest looking for a positive response after suffering their heaviest Bundesliga defeat in Werner’s opening game against Bayern Munich.
However, their defensive vulnerability was exposed in the opening 15 minutes as Heidenheim’s Mathias Honsak threatened on two occasions, only to be denied by Peter Gulacsi’s quick reflexes.
After being tested in the early going, Die Roten Bullen started to grow into the contest as the half wore on, with David Raum’s deflected effort drawing a smart save from Diant Ramaj at the near post.
The Borussia Dortmund loanee was then quickly called back into action to frustrate Romulo Cardoso, and ensure his team went into the interval on level terms.
Unfortunately for Ramaj, he was caught by surprise inside the opening three minutes of the second period, when Christoph Baumgartner cleverly used the outside of his right boot to fire his shot in from a narrow angle and open the home side’s account for the Bundesliga season.
Baumgartner threatened to grab his second of the game just past the hour mark, sending a looping header against the crossbar from Raum’s near-post corner. Antonio Nusa then steered a shot into the side-netting, as Heidenheim struggled to weather the onslaught of Leipzig attacks.
However, Frank Schmidt’s charges continued to hold out hope of salvaging a point, and they ultimately reminded Leipzig of the precarious nature of their lead when Sirlord Conteh broke the offside trap to force Gulacsi into a diving stop.
The hosts took heed of that warning, as Romulo swiftly netted the all-important second goal, producing a deft flick from Ridle Baku’s squared pass to seal all three points with his first goal for the club.
While Leipzig celebrate a confidence-building win, Heidenheim will finish the day bottom of the standings following back-to-back defeats.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig)
