Timo Werner was able to grab a hat-trick as RB Leipzig ran out 5-0 winners away at Mainz on Sunday afternoon in what was a dominant performance from Julian Nagelsmann's side.
The scoreline could have been even wider on another day, as Leipzig close their two Bundesliga matches against Mainz with a 13-0 advantage after winning 8-0 at Red Bull Arena earlier in the campaign.
Just 11 minutes into the match, Werner grabbed the game's opening goal. Konrad Laimer pushed forward from right-back, beat Aaron Martin for pace and put a cross into the six-yard box, which Werner got enough contact on to send it beyond Florian Muller.
Youssef Poulsen doubled Leipzig's advantage in the 23rd minute. Again down the right flank, it was Marcel Sabitzer this time who was able to hang a cross up and Poulsen created a little bit of space before sending a powerful header towards goal, which hit Muller and went in.
After providing an assist, Sabitzer then got on the scoresheet himself 13 minutes later. Edimilson Fernandes was caught labouring on the ball and Sabitzer robbed it from him, with the Austrian then picking out Poulsen, who played a pass towards the six-yard box. Christopher Nkunku and Werner were both in the vicinity, with the Frenchman having hit shot saved by Muller, but the rebound came to Poulsen and he unselfishly teed up Sabitzer to fire into the top right corner.
Things were comfortable for Leipzig going into half-time, but they came out for the second half with the same intensity.
Just three minutes after the break, an excellent move by Nagelsmann's players culminated in Kevin Kampl playing a one-two with Nkunku in the area and then laying the ball off for Werner to stroke into the empty net from a few yards out.
Kampl was the architect of Leipzig's fourth and he thought he'd grabbed a goal himself in the 62nd minute, but it was chalked off for offside after his long-distance shot had made contact with Poulsen, who was a yard beyond the last Mainz defender.
Fifteen minutes from time, Werner grabbed his third and Leipzig's fifth. From a quick free-kick inside his own half, Poulsen quickly looked up and played a ball in behind the Mainz back line, which Werner got on to and lifted an effort beyond Muller with his left foot. What a way for him to end a four-game run in all competitions without a goal.
Werner will steal a lot of the headlines, and quite rightly so, but Kampl, Poulsen and Sabitzer were all in incredible form on Sunday.
What Leipzig will be ruing is only drawing against Freiburg in their first match after the Bundesliga got back underway, while they drew their two games before the coronavirus-enforced stoppage of football, too.
They will now be hoping that Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund draw in Der Klassiker on Tuesday evening so that they can keep pace with the front two, and Leipzig would then need to beat a resurgent Hertha Berlin to take advantage of this.
But for now, Werner and co will simply be revelling in this result and looking ahead to the final seven games of the season.
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