With these two sides at polar opposite ends of the Bundesliga table, it was little surprise to see the European spot-chasing visitors start on the front foot.
Not even 10 minutes were on the clock when Leipzig almost broke the deadlock, watching on with angst as Xaver Schlager’s effort from the edge of the area crashed back off the post.
Schlager was proving to be influential in the opening stages, going close again soon after only to be denied by a last-ditch block, but the game’s first gilt-edged chance fell to St. Pauli’s Ricky-Jade Jones, who raced through on goal only to see his strike blocked at the death by Willi Orban.
Jones went clean through on goal again just five minutes later, and with Orban stranded, he managed to get an effort away this time, but the St. Pauli frontman could only ripple the side netting.
Ole Werner’s men cranked the pressure up before half-time and twice came close to taking the lead, when Antonio Nusa twice stung the palms of Nikola Vasilj either side of a David Raum piledriver which flashed narrowly over the bar.
Their best chance of the half came with the last kick when Rômulo Cardoso was quickest to react to a loose ball inside the area and flashed a right-footed effort across the face of goal.
The second half certainly had a lot to live up to as far as entertainment value went, and although the start was a little tame, Romulo did come close to breaking the deadlock shortly before the hour mark when his header drifted narrowly wide of the target.
The breakthrough finally arrived for the hosts not too long after, and unsurprisingly it took a moment of magic for Leipzig to break their dogged hosts down. A half-cleared corner fell kindly on the edge of the area for Yan Diomande, and after taking one touch to tee himself up, his second was a strike which deflected off a St. Pauli defender and nestled into the top corner.
Alexander Blessin rolled the dice with a triple change 15 minutes from time in a desperate bid to get his side back into the game, but it was ultimately a stab in the dark which didn’t look to be bearing fruit until a huge stroke of fortune in stoppage time.
A slip inside the area from Raum saw him inadvertently bring down Martijn Kaars, and after the referee pointed to the spot, Kaars dusted himself off to dispatch from the spot and not only claim a huge point in their battle to beat the drop, but prevent Leipzig from opening up a two-point cushion to fifth-place Stuttgart.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig)