0–5 – HSV Suffer Heavy Defeat at RB Leipzig

Following the heavy 5–0 defeat against Mainz 05, head coach Polzin made four changes to his starting XI. Nandja, Sambi Lokonga, Daka and Poulsen came in for Bornauw (muscular problems), Nadir, Adeline and Moffi (all initially on the bench). The latter was making his 250th Bundesliga appearance at his former home ground and immediately found himself at the heart of the action. As the first line of pressure, he set the tone for Hamburg, who pressed high up the pitch and were highly committed in the challenges.

In this intense opening phase, Capaldo was shown an early yellow card for a sliding tackle on Gruda (6'). Shortly afterwards, Poulsen's first effort from a promising position was blocked by Orban. After around 12 minutes, the Red Bulls threatened the HSV goal for the first time: Henrichs unleashed a powerful long-range effort that Torunarigha – himself celebrating his 100th Bundesliga appearance – crucially deflected just wide of the right-hand post.

The hosts' next attack was far more precise. Gomis met Banzuzi's cross from seven metres out and fired a low shot into the bottom-right corner to make it 1–0 (17').

The goal had a noticeable effect on both teams. While HSV became more passive, Leipzig – winless in their previous league match (a 3–1 defeat in Bremen) and Champions League outing (a 4–1 loss at Como) – regained their confidence. Gruda and Henrichs initially beat their opponents with impressive individual moves before Heuer Fernandes punched the latter's cross clear of the danger area.

Barely two minutes after those moments of individual skill, HSV inadvertently contributed to Leipzig's second goal. Nandja lost possession while trying to build from the back, Nusa reacted instantly and beat Heuer Fernandes one-on-one to make it 2–0 (28'). To make matters worse, Nandja, desperately sliding in to recover, got an unfortunate touch on the finish.

Daka then found the side-netting with a low shot from a half-right position inside the penalty area (41'), before Remberg's long-range effort was saved by RBL goalkeeper Vandevoordt (43'). HSV therefore went into the break trailing 2–0.

Polzin made a planned substitution at the start of the second half, with Moffi replacing Poulsen as the central striker. The summer signing made an immediate impact, combining well with Möller Wolfe in a one-two. From a tight angle near the left corner of the six-yard box, however, Möller Wolfe was denied by Vandevoordt, who had covered his near post well (49').

After Raum had driven a free-kick from a promising position into the HSV wall (53'), Hamburg launched their next attack, this time through right wing-back El Ouahdi. His waist-high effort towards the right corner forced Vandevoordt into another save (53').

Right in the middle of this spell of HSV pressure, RB Leipzig carelessly squandered a four-against-one counter-attacking opportunity (55'), before Nkunku sent an acrobatic scissor kick narrowly wide of the right-hand post on the next break (60').

After the hour mark, RB Leipzig attempted to regain control by keeping more possession, but HSV remained the more dangerous side. El Ouahdi and Daka both had further noteworthy efforts on goal, but lacked the final bit of fortune in front of goal.

At the other end, Heuer Fernandes produced an excellent reflex save to deny Nkunku, who had aimed for the far corner from close range (70'). Shortly afterwards, however, the HSV goalkeeper was beaten for a third time and had absolutely no chance. Nusa played a short free-kick routine and Orban headed the ball into the net from just a few metres out to make it 3–0.

Unfortunately from HSV's perspective, that was not the end of it. Just minutes later, Nkunku (74') – again assisted by Nusa – and substitute Romulo (77'), who capitalised on an individual Hamburg error while playing out from the back, extended the hosts' lead to 5–0.

The Red Bulls subsequently eased off, while HSV appeared to score a consolation goal through Grönbaek in stoppage time. However, the Dane's low shot into the far corner was ruled out because of an offside in the build-up.

HSV therefore suffered a 5–0 defeat for the second game in succession, although for long periods they had shown a clear improvement compared with the previous week.