Leipzig had the chance to move into second spot ahead of Borussia Dortmund, but Ademola Lookman’s clumsy challenge on Matheus Cunha put an end to that. They stay third on 55 points, two behind Dortmund and nine behind the leaders Bayern. Hertha move into tenth, on 35 points, for a couple of hours at least. They’ll be slightly irritated that they failed to put away ten men, but it’s a point they’d have taken at the start of play, and further proof that Bruno Labbadia might stick around a while longer than his predecessors. Thanks for reading this MBM; nighty night!
FULL TIME: Leipzig 2-2 Hertha Berlin
Just enough time for Cunha to pick up a booking for not very much, and that’s it. A draw seems about right.
90 min +2: Cunha has a pop from 25 yards. The ball takes a huge deflection and is heading for the top right, but Gulacsi reacts excellently to gather.
88 min: Lookman bustles his way down the inside-left channel and into the Hertha box. He’s about to shoot when Torunarigha toe-pokes it away. Lookman is first to the loose ball, and lays back for Angelino, who blooters a witless cross harmlessly out of play. For a second, Lookman was in, and hoping to right the wrong of the penalty. But not quite.
87 min: Hertha pass and probe, probe and pass. Eventually Cunha gets bored and drags a shot wide left from 20 yards. Gulacsi had it covered anyway.
85 min: Once the game starts again, Mittelstadt and Piatek combine smartly down the left and nearly open Leipzig up. But Piatek runs the ball out for a goal kick. Leipzig are suddenly hanging on.
83 min: The match is yet to restart, because there’s something wrong with the referee’s electric gubbins. Wires are being tweaked.
GOAL! Leipzig 2-2 Hertha Berlin (Piatek 82 pen)
Piatek performs one of those ludicrous tippy-toe shuffles as he approaches the spot, but to be fair dispatches the penalty into the bottom left with great poise and purpose.
81 min: PENALTY FOR HERTHA! Cunha dribbles in from the right, and is brought down clumsily by Lookman, who hung out a needless leg.
80 min: In between that rugby-union-style slew of substitutions, Dilrosun worked his way down the left and forced Gulacsi to tip a dangerous shot-cum-cross over his crossbar. Nothing came of the corner.
79 min: And now a double change for Leipzig, as Werner and Schick are replaced up front by Wolf and Orban.
77 min: Upamecano beckenbauers his way down the middle. He slips a pass to Adams on his right. Adams has plenty of time but his low cross is easily dealt with by Torunarigha.
73 min: Cunha jinks delicately down the inside-left channel and nearly bursts clear in the box. But just as he shapes to shoot, Angelino comes in hard but fair. In fact it ends up as a free kick to Leipzig, Cunha having overrun the ball and lunged.
69 min: There’s a case for giving that as an own goal, you know. Schick’s shot was on target, but Jarstein had saved it, then swiped it into the net with a separate motion.
GOAL! Leipzig 2-1 Hertha Berlin (Schick 67)
Schick, just to the left of the D, takes a whack towards the bottom right. Jarstein saves, but the ball squirts through his hands. As he desperately grasps for it, he only succeeds in pushing it into the bottom right. Oh dear oh dear oh dear, that was a howler.
65 min: Cunha slides recklessly towards Lookman, and is fortunate to miss the player altogether. Both sets of studs were showing there. Not a good challenge, but the referee decides that a bollocking will suffice.
RED CARD! Halstenberg (Leipzig)
63 min: A second yellow for Halstenberg, who brings down an in-flight Cunha in the no-nonsense style. He can have no complaints, especially as he studded the same player before the break.
59 min: Lookman’s quickly into the action, spinning away down the inside right and nearly bursting clear into the Hertha box. It’s a decent run until the ball gets under his feet and he’s forced to check.
57 min: Tornuarigha is booked for going into a challenge on Nkunku with a high foot. The resulting free kick is a complete waste of everyone’s time.
56 min: Darida has a belt from the best part of 30 yards. Top marks for ambition, if nothing else.
55 min: Olmo is this close to releasing Werner free down the middle, but the ball clips the striker’s heel. Leipzig come again, Werner racing down the right and hooking into the centre, where Schick attempts an overly ambitious overhead kick. It’s an easy gather for Jarstein.
53 min: Hertha are on the front foot here, snapping away at a ponderous Leipzig. They win a couple of corners. Leipzig eventually clear, but only after a struggle. The hosts need to raise their game.
52 min: Ibisevic has an opportunity to spring Lukebakio clear down the inside right, but can’t thread the ball through a big gap in the Leipzig defence.
50 min: Mittelstadt has a whack from distance. Despite having plenty of time and space, he sends it well wide right. A better chance than he made it look.
48 min: Sabitzer finds Adams in a bit of space down the right. Adams enters the box and drags a weak shot across the face of goal and out for a goal kick. There was a tap-in on offer there, but nobody was following in.
Updated
Here we go again! Leipzig get the second half underway … eventually. Hertha took an absolute age to come back out.
HALF TIME: Leipzig 1-1 Hertha Berlin
And that’s the end of an eventful half. As things stand, third-placed Leipzig will be dropping another couple of points at home. They’re making a habit of this, and it’s why they’re not on Bayern Munich’s shoulder.
45 min +4: Halstenberg is booked for standing on his former team-mate Cunha’s foot. Maybe he studded a bit of shin too. That looked pretty nasty, he’s lucky the referee didn’t consider that a dangerous challenge. You’ve seen reds given for that sort of thing before.
45 min +3: Skjelbred handles Werner’s flick round the corner, just to the right of the Hertha box. Halstenberg takes, going direct towards the bottom right. It’s no good, easy for Jarstein.
44 min: Olmo nearly releases Werner with a sliderule pass down the right channel, but Jarstein races from his box to hoick clear, just in time.
42 min: Pekarik is booked for a Ramos-on-Salah yank at Nkunku’s arm. That was poor form, and Nkunku is fortunate he didn’t land as awkwardly as the Liverpool man did in the 2018 Champions League final.
40 min: Cunha and Lukebakio combine crisply down the right, the latter whipping low and hard towards Ibisevic. The veteran striker leans back and blazes over. What a chance that was! He should have hit the target at the very least. He really should have scored.
39 min: Olmo and Skjelbred bash into each other out on the left. More work for the overworked physios, and another free kick. The set piece leads to a corner out on the left. From that, Boyata rises highest and aims for the top left. It’s high and wide. It was a good chance.
37 min: Sabitzer takes. He whips towards the top left. The ball takes a deflection off Grujic in the wall, and nearly ends up in the top corner. But it’s wide. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
35 min: Laimer is brough clattering down by a combination of Skjelbred and Boyata. It’ll be a free kick just to the left of the Hertha D. That’ll come in a couple of minutes, because Laimer is receiving treatment having hurt his shoulder. Everyone’s in a right old state today.
34 min: Skjelbred presses a backtracking Sabitzer, who ends up screwing a strange panicked lob over Gulacsi and nearly into his own net. The ball drifts just wide left. Very strange. Nothing much comes of the resulting corner.
32 min: Lukebakio tears down the right but slips just as he’s preparing to skip past Laimer. Then Werner has a look down the Leipzig right, but can’t find anyone in the middle. It’s good end-to-end fun, this.
31 min: Now Grujic is down, having taken a whack in the grid. I hope the Hertha physio is on piece work. He’ll be coining it in.
29 min: Sabitzer should set Werner free down the inside-right, having picked off a dismal pass by Boyata. But the ball flies behind Werner and out for a goal kick. That was a great chance to send his team-mate clean through on goal.