RB Leipzig returned to the top of the Bundesliga standings with a dominant showing against Pal Dardai's Hertha BSC, as Timo Werner and captain Willi Orban seal the three points for Ralph Hasenhüttl's side.
The first half saw the home side dominate the possession and also create very decent chances to score for themselves as Hertha sat deep in their own defensive half. They allowed Die Bullen to have the ball and created a difficult situation for themselves to handle with Leipzig pressing the ball with great intensity.
The opening goal came just as half-time neared, when Leipzig cleverly opened up the tight Hertha defense and Werner got his 9th goal of the campaign with a superbly taken shot, which certainly gave the home side a huge boost of confidence going into the break.
The second half was a similar story as the first half, the home side dominated as Hertha tried to hit back on the counter but couldn't make any of their chances count and the game was settled when Orban scored a free header and made it 2-0 for his team and got the three points for Die Bullen.
First half was dominated by Leipzig
The first half began with the home side on the front foot as expected and looked to control possession early on in the half, with Hertha sitting off the ball and letting Leipzig have most of the ball.
It was Hertha who looked like they might threaten first in the half when a counter attack by Dardai's men was effectively stopped by the Leipzig defense as Vedad Ibisevic was frustrated with a lost opportunity to take the lead for his side.Just moments later, Emil Forsberg was provided the first clear cut opportunity with a free kick close to the Hertha goal, but his kick went way up above Rune Jarstein's goalpost.
Another big chance came for Leipzig when Orban played Forsberg through with a great through ball from the back and the Swedish international then took the shot and hit the target, the shot was parried away by Jarstein and Yussuf Poulsen just missed the rebound, but Leipzig didn't stop there and kept piling on the pressure on the Hertha defense, that pressure ended when Mitchell Weiser was taken down and fouled, which gave the Hertha team a moment to take a breath.
Leipzig continued to create chances with Werner and Forsberg at the center of all those chances for the home side, Dardai's side were under an immense amount of pressure from their opponents and even under all that pressure, Hertha managed to create a free kick situation for themselves when Ibisevic's clever work with his feet created the situation for his side, but that free kick was not taken advantage of and the home side got away with one there.
Naby Keita's work in the first half was a highlight and the Guinea international was the one dictating the play through the middle of the park for Leipzig and drove at Hertha's defense whenever he was afforded the opportunity as well.
Werner gets the opener
Leipzig settled into possession mode and were patient with their build up as they looked to unlock a very stubborn Hertha defense and on the 40th minute mark, they did just that.
Forsberg started the build up to the goal after passing the ball for a while in front of the Hertha defense and after a good piece of play, Werner found himself in front of Jarstein and finished the ball into the back of net coolly as he always has done this season, as he grabbed his ninth goal of the season for Leipzig.
The goal was a huge boost for Hasenhüttl's side and they controlled the rest of the half in very good fashion and went into half-time with a commanding first half performance and a deserved lead thanks to Werner.
Orban seals three points for Leipzig
The second half was more or less a repeat of the first half, as Leipzig controlled much of the half with productive football and keeping much of the possession, Hertha never looked like they'd press the home side for the ball.
Once again, Hertha sat off the ball and allowed Leipzig to dictate the pace of the game as Dardai looked to limit the damage caused to his side with a change at half time, bringing off Salomon Kalou for Vladimir Darida, as he looked to tighten things at the back.
Keita looked like he had taken a knock in the first half and was replaced early on in the second when Dominik Kaiser came off for the Guinea international.
Leipzig saw some decent chances off of set piece situations later on in the game and some smart individual work from Forsberg as well threatened Hertha's defense to get the second goal away, they wouldn't have to wait for very long.
Ibisevic was the creator of another potential chance for the visitors when they tried to hit the home side on the counter attack after a failed corner kick from Leipzig, but the good through ball from the veteran Bosnian went nowhere the intended target Genki Haraguchi, who was in a direction away from the ball.
Leipzig got their second goal after the hour mark when a good delivery from a corner by Forsberg found the head of his captain Orban, who was left unmarked by the Hertha defense and he made full use of the opportunity by thumping home the header past Jarstein to seal the game for his side.
The rest of the half saw Leipzig in control and while Hertha did try to get back into the game, it was too little too late for the visitors as Dardai's side dropped points once again away from home.
For Leipzig, this result was a much needed one going into the winter break, with some very important fixtures coming up against their nearest rivals in the Bundesliga standings.