RB Leipzig stage second-half comeback to overturn 2-0 half-time deficit
Bebé netted two first-half goals which ultimately weren't enough for Eibar to take victory
SD Eibar ended their pre-season tour with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig in the German town of Grassau in a game which saw the Armeros dominate the opening half and take a 2-0 advantage into the break.
The encounter was finely balanced in the opening stages, until José Luis Mendilibar's charges began to make inroads down the flanks and exploit Bebé's goalscoring instincts.
The Portuguese forward made the breakthrough on 31 minutes with a sublime strike. Ander Capa played a long through ball from the right which Bebé brought under control, before dribbling towards the edge of the area and unleashing a powerful effort which flew just inside the post.
Having broken the deadlock, only two minutes had elapsed when Bebé was at it again, converting a Pedro León cross from the right to double his own tally, and his side's lead. Indeed, the Eibar hitman could have claimed his hat-trick on 36 minutes but the German goalkeeper denied him with a full-stretch save to parry his powerful drive behind for a corner.
In the second period, the Leipzig substitutes offered the Bundesliga newboys greater pace and improved their link-up play, which saw the Germans gradually begin to dominate proceedings.
Following on from a spell of Leipzig dominance, Eibar once again imposed themselves and just when it seemed as if they had the measure of their opponents, things took a turn for the worse on 72 minutes as the pendulum began to swing.
Some neat interplay culminated in Marcel Sabitzer firing home the first on 72 minutes and the equaliser came when Yussuf Poulsen struck across goal with a sweet 77th-minute strike which went in off the post. The comeback was complete on 86 minutes when a Poulsen pull-back was turned into his own net by Unai Elgezabal in his efforts to clear the danger.
In the space of barely fifteen minutes, the German outfit overturned Eibar's lead to condemn the Armeros to defeat on a day when they deserved better.
Goals: 0-1, 31': Bebé. 0-2, 33': Bebé, 1-2, 72': Sabitzer. 2-2, 77': Poulsen. 3-2, 86': Elgezabal (o.g).
Line-ups:
SD Eibar: Riesgo; Capa, Lejeune, Ramis, Luna (Julen López, 80'); Dani García, Christian Rivera (Elgezabal, 80'); Pedro León (Inui, 58'), Adrián (Gálvez, 58'), Bebé and Sergi Enrich.
RB Leipzig: Boyd; Bruno, Demme, Diawusi, Fechner, Gibson, Graschopf, Khedira, Muller, Nukan and Werner. The following players also featured: Coltorti, Forsberg, Halstenberg, Ilsanker, Kaiser, Kalmar, Keita, Orban, Poulsen, Sabitzer and Schmitz.