Leipzig held to Gladbach stalemate

RB Leipzig were held to a scoreless draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, missing a chance to close the gap to league leaders Bayern Munich to three points.

Hosts Gladbach had spent much of the season in the relegation zone but had won their last four league matches and had the better of much of the match.

Home midfielder Franck Honourat had the ball in the net shortly after halftime, but his goal was chalked off by VAR for offside.

With 15 minutes remaining, Gladbach were awarded a penalty after Japanese forward Shuto Machino went down the box, but the spot kick was overturned on review with Leipzig defender Willi Orban getting a foot to the ball.

Despite winning eight of 11 heading into Friday's match, Leipzig offered little in attack and did not have a corner until just before the hour mark.

Germany defender David Raum had Leipzig's best chance of the match when he hit the inside of the post with 10 minutes remaining.

Leipzig missed the attacking verve of teenage midfielder Assan Ouedraogo, who picked up a knee injury in Sunday's 2-0 win over Werder Bremen

Surprise challengers this season despite a young squad after several high-profile departures in the summer, Leipzig could finish the weekend eight points behind Bayern if the Bavarians win at home against struggling St Pauli on Saturday.

This summer, Leipzig underwent a rebuild in their first transfer window under new Red Bull football boss Jurgen Klopp, having lost Xavi Simons to Tottenham, Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United and Lois Openda to Juventus.

The Red Bull-owned club were hammered 6-0 in their season opener by Bayern but responded to win eight of their next 10 games.

Leipzig could fall further down the table on Saturday, when third-placed Bayer Leverkusen host fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund.