Witsel winner keeps Dortmund six points clear in Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund restored their six-point lead over Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday as Axel Witsel netted in their 1-0 away win at fourth-placed RB Leipzig.
Second-placed Bayern, the defending champions, had trimmed Dortmund's lead to three points on Friday with an impressive 3-1 win at Hoffenheim as Leon Goretzka scored two superb first-half goals.
Leipzig suffered their first home league defeat this season and Dortmund's victory was all the more impressive without captain and playmaker Marco Reus, who twisted an ankle in training on Friday.
On the first weekend of the Bundesliga after the winter break, Dortmund claimed the winner on 19 minutes when the ball fell to Witsel from a corner and the Belgium midfielder reacted fastest, firing home off the underside of the crossbar.
"I am happy to score, like I did in the first game," said Witsel, who scored his first Bundesliga goal against Leipzig in last August's 4-1 win in Dortmund.
"But I am more happy with the three points, because it was really important to get a win at the start of the second half of the season."
Dortmund created chances after the break as England winger Jadon Sancho and Maximilian Philipp, Reus' replacement, both got in behind the Leipzig defence, but failed to convert.
At the other end, Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki twice denied Leipzig forwards Timo Werner and Marcel Sabitzer as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.
Paco Alcacer, Dortmund's top scorer with 12 league goals, had an effort ruled out for offside and smacked the crossbar with another shot when he came on for the final, nervy 10 minutes.