RB Leipzig sealed Champions League football with a 2-1 win over FC St. Pauli, and the ratings tell the story. Willi Orbán was the clear standout, earning a 9.0 and Man of the Match after scoring Leipzig’s second goal. Xaver Schlager added a 7.9 and the opener, while David Raum and Christoph Baumgartner did important work around them.

Orbán and Schlager drove the result

Schlager opened the scoring in the 45th minute on his final Bundesliga appearance at the Red Bull Arena. The panel called it “a moment of real quality from the Austrian midfielder, and a particularly poignant one — it came in what was his final home game for the club.”

Orbán then made it 2-0 in the 55th minute, heading home from a Raum corner. That was his 18th Bundesliga headed goal, which is an unusual number for a centre-back and goes some way to explaining why he took the match rating headline with a 9.0. The Bundesliga.com editorial panel also said Orbán was voted Man of the Match with 36 per cent of the vote.

The ratings back up Leipzig’s control

Raum’s 7.5 reflected a useful evening from the left side, and his delivery directly created the second goal. Baumgartner’s 6.7 came with the assist for Schlager’s opener, a reminder that Leipzig got contributions from several spots rather than leaning on one player alone.

St. Pauli did pull one back late, through Abdoulie Ceesay in the 86th minute after a Jackson Irvine header. Martijn Kaars also rattled the crossbar in the first half, but Leipzig had already done the damage by then. The final picture was clear enough: Leipzig finished 3rd in the Bundesliga on 65 points after 33 matches, and the top-four place is now confirmed.

The only wrinkle in the numbers is Orbán’s goal count. The match report highlights his 18th Bundesliga headed goal, while the broader season figure in the brief lists 3 goals across all competitions. Either way, the key point is the same, he decided the night at both ends and Leipzig got the result they needed. They now go into the closing stretch with Champions League qualification secured.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →