Even though they created plenty of chances, Aalen were unable to make their dominance pay. Anthony Jung was booked twice in four minutes, but Leipzig held firm for thirty-five minutes and earned a point.
VfR Aalen were in danger of losing touch with the mid-table sides, after a series of results went against them on Tuesday. A tough 1-2 defeat at the hands of Nürnberg, with their opponents down to ten men, was slightly disappointing. Stefan Ruthenbeck made two changes to the team that lost at the weekend, as Andre Hainhault and Michael Klauß replaced Andreas Hofmann and Collin Quaner.
Leipzig were on a high after their late, late 0-1 win over Greuther Fürth. Niklas Hoheneder struck in the final minutes, though the main worries were in regards to the strikers. Yussuf Poulsen, Ante Rebic and Terrence Boyd were injured, but thankfully for Alex Zorninger he had Daniel Frahn back from suspension. The club captain replaced Rebic, while Matthias Morys took Clemens Fandrich's place.
The conditions were not lending themselves to an attractive style of football. The rain was heavy, to say the least, turning part of the into a puddle-riddled patch of turf. Despite that and to their credit, both sides were doing their best to play the ball along the sodden pitch. Nejmeddin Daghfous went inches from picking out the top corner from thirty-yards, with Dominik Kaiser attempting a similar feat, as long range efforts seemed to be the order of the day.
Corners were also proving dangerous, especially for the home side, though Michael Klauß poked a brilliant cross from Dominick Drexler just wide. Kaiser was a continual threat throughout the first-half, but none of his multiple efforts were particularly strenuous for Daniel Bernhardt. The best chances of the fell to the hosts, as Klauß struck the upright and Jurgen Gjasula's shot was tipped acrobatically round the post by Fabio Coltorti.
There was a moment of controversy at the beginning of the second period, involving Coltorti and Klauß. The Swiss stopper brought Aalen's front-man to the floor, though referee Markus Wingenbach decided that the contact was minimal, much to the frustration of the home side. Even though the Leipzig stopper wasn't red carded, it wasn't long until Anthony Jung was. The left-back picked up two cautions in quick succession and there were no complains from either party.
Despite having a man advantage, the ball would not go in for Aalen. The hosts were creating the chances, but they just couldn't find the finishing touch. Klauß passed up the best opportunity of all, but the rough goal-mouth meant that the ball bobbled onto his boot and he couldn't make a clean contact. Coltorti was reaching every cross and every shot, thought it seemed like a matter of time until the breakthrough arrived.
A late shot against the crossbar was evidence of how lucky Leipzig were to escape with a point. They remain in sixth place and will be hoping to end 2014 on a high when they host 1860 Munich on Monday night. As for Aalen, it's a case of what could have been. Nevertheless, it's an impressive draw and they move a point ahead of the Lions in sixteenth. A trip to fellow strugglers St. Pauli represents a great chance to get the three points they missed out on against the Bulls.