The Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig rivalry may not have the centuries of tradition attached to some European football fixtures, but it has developed into one of the Bundesliga’s most entertaining modern match-ups. Since RB Leipzig reached Germany’s top flight in 2016, meetings with Borussia Dortmund have regularly produced goals, drama and plenty of reasons for supporters to spend 90 minutes shouting at the television.

Unlike classic Bundesliga rivalries built on geography or decades of history, Dortmund vs RB Leipzig has grown through competition at the top end of German football. Both clubs have regularly challenged for European places, domestic trophies and, at times, the Bundesliga title. That has given their encounters a significance that goes well beyond three points.

The Early Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig Matches

The first competitive meeting between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig came on 10 September 2016, shortly after Leipzig’s promotion to the Bundesliga. The newly promoted side announced themselves with a memorable 1-0 victory over Dortmund at the Red Bull Arena, with Naby Keita scoring the only goal of the match. It was quite an introduction to life among Germany’s elite.

Dortmund responded later that season, winning 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park in February 2017. However, Leipzig quickly demonstrated that their first victory was no fluke. In October 2017, they stunned Dortmund again, winning 3-2 away from home in a thrilling contest. The early meetings established a pattern that would become familiar: these matches were rarely short on attacking football.

Across their first few Bundesliga seasons, the results remained remarkably competitive. Dortmund recorded wins, Leipzig produced impressive victories of their own, and the occasional draw added to the uncertainty. There was no guarantee that home advantage would be enough to settle the argument.

A Rivalry Begins to Take Shape

As RB Leipzig established themselves as a regular Champions League contender, the fixtures with Borussia Dortmund became increasingly important. The two clubs repeatedly found themselves competing for the upper reaches of the Bundesliga table, making their head-to-head encounters particularly valuable.

One of the most entertaining matches came in December 2019, when Dortmund and Leipzig played out a 3-3 draw at Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund raced into a two-goal lead before Leipzig fought back, creating the sort of six-goal spectacle that makes this fixture particularly popular with neutral supporters. In football terms, it was less a chess match and more two teams deciding that defending could wait until Christmas.

The rivalry also moved beyond the Bundesliga. In the 2020/21 DFB-Pokal final, Dortmund defeated Leipzig 4-1 in Berlin, with Jadon Sancho scoring twice and Erling Haaland also finding the net twice. That victory gave Dortmund a major piece of silverware and one of their most convincing wins over Leipzig.

Leipzig’s Strong Spell Against Dortmund

In the seasons that followed, RB Leipzig enjoyed a particularly strong run against Borussia Dortmund. Leipzig won several important meetings, including a 4-1 Bundesliga victory at Dortmund in April 2022 and a 3-0 home win in September of the same year.

Leipzig also eliminated Dortmund from the DFB-Pokal in April 2023, winning 2-0 in the quarter-finals. The result highlighted how competitive this fixture had become across both league and cup football. By this stage, RB Leipzig had developed a reputation for making life extremely uncomfortable for Dortmund, particularly through their aggressive pressing and rapid attacking transitions.

The 2023/24 season provided another memorable chapter when Leipzig won 4-1 at home in April 2024. According to Bundesliga’s historical review of the rivalry, that result represented Leipzig’s biggest winning margin in the fixture at the time and formed part of a run in which they had won six of eight competitive meetings.

The Recent Head-to-Head Record

The balance has shifted again in the most recent meetings. Dortmund defeated Leipzig 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park in November 2024, although Leipzig responded with a 2-0 victory at home in March 2025. The following two Bundesliga meetings ended in draws, with a 1-1 result in Dortmund in October 2025 followed by a 2-2 draw in Leipzig in February 2026.

As of February 2026, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig had met 22 times in competitive football, including 20 Bundesliga matches and two DFB-Pokal encounters. The overall record was perfectly balanced: Dortmund had won nine, Leipzig had won nine and four matches had ended in draws. Leipzig had scored 38 goals compared with Dortmund’s 36.

That remarkably even record explains why Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig remains such an intriguing Bundesliga fixture. There is little separating the teams historically, momentum can change quickly and goals are rarely in short supply. What began as a meeting between an established German giant and an ambitious newcomer has developed into a genuine modern rivalry – and, judging by the head-to-head record, neither side has any intention of giving the other the bragging rights for long.