Three points and a personal record: Baumi dazzles away at Köln | OneFootball

You wake up on some matchdays feeling that a hard-fought win would be just what the doctor ordered. That was exactly how RB Leipzig headed into Sunday afternoon's game against 1. FC Köln. The Red Bulls had failed to win in three of their previous four Bundesliga matches, a difficult period for RBL's youthful squad. Ole Werner's fresh-faced side managed to secure victory in Cologne this weekend, though, picking up three well-earned points that could prove crucial down the line in this campaign.

RBL's head coach appeared relieved and satisfied after the final whistle blew: "This is a team that's constantly developing and still has to work extremely hard if we want to be winning more of those tightly-contested games. The fact that we managed to do just that today should give us momentum for our upcoming fixtures."

Seventh and eighth of the season for Baumi

The main man against Effzeh was undoubtedly Christoph Baumgartner, who bagged both of RBL's goals in the 2-1 win and seemed to be in the middle of nearly all of Leipzig's attacking moves on the day. By opening the scoring with his seventh goal of the season and wrapping up victory with his eighth, Baumi didn't just seal three points for his team - he also set a new personal record.

Ole Werner was understandably keen to sing the midfielder's praises: "Baumi just gives us that extra energy on the pitch. He's someone who always wants to drive forward and is right in the middle of those high-pressure situations more often than not. He's someone you know you can rely on. He's such a key player for us both on and off the pitch."

The Austria international was keen to credit his teammates for helping set up his brace in style. He thanked his captain, David Raum, for the "super ball" from a free-kick that he headed in to make it 1-0, and recognised another tidy assist from Xaver Schlager to set up his particularly attractive second strike. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Baumi took one exceptional touch to knock it around the left side of his body, before turning gracefully to fire home superbly. "If you've already got yourself on the scoresheet in a game, it's easier to score goals like the second today," grinned our number 14.

A controversial call and a debut for Gruda

Baumgartner was the centre of attention once again in the 77th minute, although this time in a more complicated scene. After Jan Thielmann fired in a fizzing effort on goal, Baumi's block with his leg sprang the ball up to hit him in the arm, ultimately preventing a potential equaliser from crossing the line. After a lengthy review of the incident and its buildup, the referee declared that Köln had, in fact, been offside in the lead-up to the shot being blocked - a lucky escape for RB Leipzig.

Baumi looked back at the decision following the game, saying: "We've not really had luck on our side over recent weeks, but today we can be happy with how it went. You can see in the replay that there was no intention when the ball bounced up onto my arm. Luckily for me, there was that offside in the build-up. I can understand how frustrating it is for Köln, though."

The win in Cologne also marked a debut appearance for Brajan Gruda, as the deadline-day signing started his first game for RBL in the middle of the park. His quality was already on display in his first outing as a Red Bull, looking classy on the ball and tenacious off it. "He has a lot to add to this side," assured Ole Werner. Gruda himself spoke of his joy at making his debut after an "intense week of training," emphasising what a pleasure it was to run out in an RB Leipzig shirt.

Excitement and anticipation ahead of a cup clash

Having spent just one week in Leipzig since joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, the attacking midfielder is now excitedly gearing up for a huge test in midweek. At 20:45 CET on Wednesday, the Red Bulls will kick off in their DFB-Pokal quarter-final meeting away at FC Bayern München. Brajan can feel the sense of anticipation ahead of the matchup: "It's going to be a tough game against Bayern. They're one of the strongest teams in the world right now, if not the best. We're a capable side as well, though, and we're looking forward to the match." He's hopeful for the floodlit affair: "We'll put up a good fight and give everything we've got to make it into the next round."

Ole Werner echoed the sentiment, saying: "We're looking forward to the Pokal game, and of course we're aiming to earn ourselves a semi-final spot." If RBL really are in the mood to pick up more hard-fought wins - where better to do so than under the lights at FC Bayern?

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