Dortmund entered the encounter looking to close the gap to Bayern Munich at the top of the table ahead of Der Klassiker next weekend. However, despite winning just one of their past five home games, Leipzig were in fine form and entered the break two goals to the good.
Both sides had chances in the opening 10 minutes, with Romulo flicking David Raum’s low cross into the hands of Gregor Kobel before Maarten Vandevoordt - on his first Bundesliga start of the season - denied Maximilian Beier almost immediately at the other end.
The Black-Yellows’ Julian Ryerson has been applauded for his attacking threat in recent weeks, providing the assist for all four goals as Dortmund beat Mainz on Matchday 22, but Leipzig targeted his flank with their attacks and reaped the rewards.
In Yan Diomande, they have a star winger, and it was his creativity that beat Ryerson before crossing for Christoph Baumgartner to tap into the corner.
Remarkably, the usually solid Dortmund refused to learn their lesson and were constantly caught out by low crosses from the left to the front post.
In fact, Baumgartner had three further chances that were carbon copies of the one he scored for the opener, and he eventually doubled his and his side’s tally for the evening with the final one.
After the restart, Dortmund were far more assured down the right flank, although the damage had already been done there.
Niko Kovac’s men were more intense in the final third, too, and the deficit was cut just five minutes after the restart when Ryerson’s corner was headed into his own net by Romulo.
As the game progressed, Dortmund pushed further and further forward as they attempted to salvage something from the game.
They had plenty of half-chances, but none of any real note with the final ball often lacking precision. However, in the fourth minute of injury time, they finally created an opening and used it to the full, as two substitutes combined when Silva turned home Karim Adeyemi’s low cross.
While the point only reduces the gap at the top of the table to eight points, Dortmund’s resilience will give them confidence ahead of the clash with Bayern next week.
Leipzig, meanwhile, have now won just one of their past six games in all competitions, with this another blow in the race to secure a return to UEFA Champions League football.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig)