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Exhausted but happy, the RB Leipzig players sank to the grass after the grueling duel, coach Julian Nagelsmann hitting his winners with a beaming smile. In the absence of the magical Neymar / Kylian Mbappé duo, RB returned the favor at Paris St. Germain and headed for the knockout round in the premier class. (The highlights of the game are here in the video)
Leipziger won the new edition of the previous season’s semi-finals against the French series champions 2-1 (1: 1), the pressure in the second leg in three weeks is now clearly on PSG.
“We are very happy that we got all three points. We were a bit vulnerable at the back, we have to stop that,” Marcel Sabitzer told DAZN. Striker Emil Forsberg added: “It was an important victory for us, we deserved to win. We really wanted to win, and you saw it on the pitch.”
78 days earlier, Paris had taught the Bundesliga club a lesson with coach Thomas Tuchel at 3-0 and ended the dream of the Champions League final. This time, the injured Neymar and Mbappé were missing; however, Leipzig initially struggled. Ángel Di María scored the first goal for PSG in the sixth minute, which Dayot Upamecano had started with a lurid backward pass.
Just ten minutes later, the unwell Leipzig defense chief caused a penalty that Peter Gulacsi rejected against Di Maria. PSG coached Christopher Nkunku (42nd) and Forsberg (57th / penalty) changed the game in favor of Leipzig, who had recently lost twice in a row. PSG professional Idrissa Gueye saw the yellow-red card in the 69th minute after repeated foul plays, as did Presnel Kimpembe (90 + 3).
PSG better at the start: Nkunku wakes RB from a deep sleep
Leipzig started with a starting eleven changed to five positions, but Nagelsmann did so without a forward. The RB coach relied on agile coaches such as Forsberg and Dani Olmo and announced that his players would act “with a knife between their teeth.” But at first there was little to see.
PSG was initially the best team with the clearest chances. Striker Moise Kean in particular, who was allowed to appear because of Neymar and Mbappé’s injuries, caused problems for the RB defense. Kean scored Di María’s first goal and took the penalty. Even Gulacsi’s penalty did not serve as a wake-up call for RB, who acted too improperly on offense and defense and too often allowed himself to buy his guts in the duel against the ripped off Parisians.
PSG scored two offside goals before the break and didn’t really allow anything, until the 42nd minute. After a cross pass from Angelino, Nkunku found himself from 20 meters to equalize, which had been flattering until then. Shortly before the break, Olmo even had a chance to make it 2-1.
After the break, Leipzig came out of the booth with more momentum. Forsberg (53rd) initially missed with a left-footed shot, but the Swede was more infallible when it came to the penalty, which had been awarded to RB following video evidence. The advantage gave the home team a clear tailwind, while Paris was notably insecure.
Tuchel had caused quite a stir in the lead-up to the game when he was extremely skeptical about the extension of his expiring contract. One should not “dream when one is under constant fire,” said the 47-year-old: “For a while I had this naive vision that the manager would be out of the line of fire for a while after four titles and a final of Champions would resist, it took five days. “
RB Leipzig – Paris Saint-Germain: The line-ups
- RB Leipzig: Gulacsi – Konaté, Upamecano, Orban – Mukiele (63. Henrichs), Sabitzer, A. Haidara, Angelino, Nkunku, Dani Olmo (63. Poulsen) – Forsberg
- Paris Saint Germain: Navas – Florenzi, Danilo Pereira, Kimpembe, Kurzawa – Marquinhos, Ander Herrera, Gueye – di Maria, Kean, Sarabia
RB Leipzig – Paris Saint-Germain: The match data
Tore: 0: 1 for Maria (6.), 1: 1 Nkunku (41.), 2: 1 Forsberg (HE, 57.)
Yellow-red cards: Gueye (69.), Kimpembe (95.)
Bes. Incidents: Gulacsi saves hand penalty against di Maria (16.)
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