Bundesliga: Jesse Marsch wins battle of American managers as RB Leipzig thrash Stuttgart

Jesse Marsch celebrated his first Bundesliga win in charge of RB Leipzig in a battle of the US coaches on Friday, as his side cruised to a 4-0 victory over Pellegrino Matarazzo’s VfB Stuttgart. Victory was a welcome boost for new Leipzig boss Marsch, in the first ever clash between two American coaches in the Bundesliga. Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored brilliant long-range goals either side of half-time as Leipzig bounced back from a disappointing opening day loss to Mainz last week. “It was a great reaction after last weekend. We said we needed to show our passion today, and we were sharp from the very beginning,” said Marsch. “It was a great performance from us, but we have to keep playing bravely,” he added. Marsch’s side put on a furious attacking display in the first half, chalking up 12 shots on goal before they finally broke Stuttgart’s defences on 38 minutes. The goal was worth waiting for, as Szoboszlai smashed the ball into the bottom corner from outside the area to open his Bundesliga account. Emil Forsberg doubled the lead straight from the kick-off in the second half, flicking the ball past the goalkeeper after a brilliant backheel assist from Andre Silva. Szoboszlai made it 3-0 almost by accident a few minutes later. His fizzing free-kick was intended as a cross, but sailed into the bottom corner without anyone else getting a touch. “You don’t get much better than that in front of the fans on your home debut,” said the Hungarian. Silva then also scored his first goal for Leipzig on his home bow, coolly converted from the penalty spot after a hotly disputed handball decision. “The penalty decision did not change the game. Leipzig were just a class above today,” said Matarazzo. “We didn’t really play a team of this quality in pre-season, and talking about something is different to actually experiencing it.”