Borussia Dortmund Vs RB Leipzig [1–1] Bundesliga 2025/2026: Stalemate Between Niko Kovač & Ole Werner Tactics – Tactical Analysis

The distribution of power in the Bundesliga appears to be set for another season, with Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany dominating the league once again.

Behind them, things are shaping up a bit differently than people expected, with two teams chasing FC Bayern after the team struggled last season.

Borussia Dortmund are coming off a disappointing campaign, having reached the UEFA Champions League Final the year prior.

Following Nuri Şahins dismissal and Niko Kovačs appointment as manager, the team turned around its season and secured fourth place in the Bundesliga on the final day of the campaign.

This season, after a shaky 3-3 draw against FC St. Pauli to start the season, BVB won four straight league games without conceding a goal, drew away at Juventus, and won their first home game in the Champions League this year, convincingly against Athletic Bilbao.

For RB Leipzig, the coaching change happened after the 2024/2025 season.

After a disappointing campaign and missing out on European football for the first time since their promotion to the Bundesliga, the club hired former Werder Bremen boss Ole Werner as their new manager.

The young, yet experienced, manager had to cope with losing his star players Xavi Simons, Benjamin Šeško, and Lois Openda this summer, but started the Bundesliga season well.

On Saturday, the two teams clashed in the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, fighting for the title of Bayern hunter number 1.

In this tactical analysis, we will examine how the match unfolded, the tactics employed by Niko Kovač and Ole Werner, and whether the 1-1 draw was a fair result.

Borussia Dortmund Vs RB Leipzig Formations & Players Used

Niko Kovač brought a lot of ideas to Dortmund, but mainly, his 3-4-2-1 formation works out really well for them.

Gregor Kobel once again started in goal after not conceding in four straight Bundesliga games, with Waldemar Anton, captain Nico Schlotterbeck, and Ramy Bensebaini playing as the back-three in front of him.

Once again, the two wingbacks were Brazilian Yan Couto and young Swedish sensation Daniel Svensson.

In midfield, Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha formed a double pivot in front of their backline, with Maximilian Beier and in-form Karim Adeyemi playing as the two attacking midfielders for the Croatian coach.

The lone striker to top off the formation was Serhou Guirassy, the lifeline of Borussia Dortmund.

On the other hand, Ole Werner also brought about significant changes to RB Leipzig, abandoning the back-three formation of the previous season and establishing a 4-3-3 system, a formation he had already employed at Holstein Kiel to begin his career.

Péter Gulácsi remains Werners starting goalkeeper this season, despite a close call with the young Belgian Martin Vandevoort.

The four defenders were skipper David Raum on the left, Castello Lukeba as the left centre-back, Willi Orban as the right centre-back, and Ridle Baku as right-back after getting his call-up from Julian Nagelsmann for the German national team.

In midfield, Nicolas Seiwald played as a holding midfielder, with Assan Ouedraogo and Christoph Baumgartner playing as the two central midfielders in front of him.

The newly-formed attacking line this season consisted of Romulo in central attack, with Antonio Nusa and Johan Bakayoko playing on the wings, after Yan Diomande missed the bus to the away game and was therefore rotated to the bench by Werner.

RB Leipzig Dominating With Their Press

The game started with high intensity, but not with many goal-scoring opportunities right away.

Borussia Dortmund attempted to gain control of the game by maintaining possession, but RB Leipzig quickly disrupted that plan with effective defensive work.

Ole Werner had a clear plan for his team in all situations.

While they didn’t control possession, they managed to get their foot into the game better than BVB did.

In Line 1, Dortmund consistently attempted to play out from the back with four defenders and their two midfielders, but Leipzig were well-prepared for it.

Instead of staying in their 4-3-3 formation, they pushed Nusa into the attacking line and Baumgartner to the left side, forming a 4-4-2 shape.

This allowed t