Star Metro - Ouedraogo stunner sends Leipzig second in Bundesliga

Austria international Xaver Schlager scored with 10 minutes remaining to cement the victory.

The win moved Leipzig two points clear of Bayer Leverkusen and to within six points of league leaders Bayern Munich.

"That was a superb goal from Assan. That's high quality -- he's on fire," said Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner.

The 19-year-old Ouedraogo scored on his Germany debut in a 6-0 rout of Slovakia in Leipzig on Monday and looked dangerous early, going close twice in the opening half.

Ouedraogo drilled the hosts ahead just past the hour against Bremen with a powerful left-footed drive into the top corner from outside the area.

Bremen looked to have equalised when Keke Topp tapped in from a corner shortly afterwards, but the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside.

Schlager came off the bench to score Leipzig's second as he swept in from close range on the turn.

"It was a perfect week: two wins, two goals, two clean sheets -- it doesn't get much better than that," Ouedraogo told DAZN.

Leipzig, who failed to qualify for European football last season, have dropped just four of a possible 30 points in the league since a 6-0 thrashing by Bayern in the season opener.

In Sunday's late game, Rani Khedira scored the only goal as Union Berlin won at St Pauli, condemning the hosts to their eighth league defeat in a row.

The victory took Union, who became the only team in Europe this term to take a point off Bayern in their 2-2 draw before the international break, up three spots to eighth.

G.Boudreau--SMC