体坛英语新闻：Leipzig beat Augsburg 2-0 in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Leipzig wrapped their second straight win after moving 2-0 past uninspired Augsburg in the opener of the 22nd round in Bundesliga on Friday.

The "Bulls" jumped onto the 2nd place of the standings for the moment as goals from Dayot Upamecano and Naby Keita secured all three points on home soil against Augsburg.

Both sides staged a lively opening period as Michael Gregoritsch's back-heel effort got blocked in the 7th minute before Leipzig's Timo Werner failed to overcome goalkeeper Marwin Hitz from seven meters with 16 minutes played.

Augsburg's goalie Hitz was hapless moments later when he parried Yussuf Poulsen's shot on target, allowing Dayot Upamecano to tap home the opener from very close range.

The visitors needed some time to recover from the setback while Leipzig remained on the front foot. However, Gregoritsch came close but lacked in accuracy following Ja-Cheol Koo's pass into path in the 34th minute. Leipzig almost doubled their advantage three minutes later but Werner was again unable to overcome custodian Marwin Hitz.

After the restart, Leipzig shifted a gear up and kept the visitor's defence busy. Augsburg's bulwark held firm until the 70th minute before Naby Keita doubled the lead with a deflected free-kick effort that overcame wrong-footed Hitz.

Leipzig kept it bowling and almost tripled the lead but the crossbar denied Kevin Kampl's free kick with eleven minutes until the final whistle.

With the result, Leipzig consolidated their top-four finish after jumping on the 2nd place whereas Augsburg suffered their 7th loss of the season to continue on the 7th position.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Borussia Dortmund host struggling Hamburg, Hoffenheim meet Mainz, Eintracht Frankfurt face bottom side Cologne, third placed Bayer Leverkusen take on Hertha Berlin, Hannover see Freiburg and runaway leaders Bayern Munich encounter Schalke.