RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool
Liverpool began their Champions League knockout round campaign with a confidence-boosting 2-0 win over Bundesliga high-flyers RB Leipzig at the Puskas Arena.
The Reds have been toiling badly in the Premier League, with three defeats causing a drop to sixth place, 13 points behind leaders Manchester City who have a game in hand. But they’re having a great time in Europe thanks to second-half goals from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
In tonight’s other Champions League 2021 news, there was a monster clash at the Camp Nou where Paris Saint-Germain stunned Barcelona with a 4-1 victory as Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick.
Highlights of the game
Liverpool really needed a good start but they almost had a shocker when Leipzig hit the post with just six minutes on the clock. Wing-back Angelino, who has already made four assists in the competition, beat Trent Alexander-Arnold before whipping in a cross which Dani Olmo met with a header to leave Alisson stranded but it bounced back off the post.
In a bright opening, both teams looked hungry and the visitors came close on 15 minutes. Alexander-Arnold sent a wicked cross into the danger area and as Mo Salah prepared to pounce Leipzig keeper Peter Gulacsi blocked, Roberto Firmino latched on to the rebound and fired into the side netting.
Alisson committed a howler in Liverpool’s defeat to Leicester City on Saturday but he stood firm when tested on 17 minutes. Marcel Sabitzer, rested in Leipzig’s victory over Augsburg, broke and he got his shot away which the Liverpool keeper saved well.
The visitors started to up the tempo and Sadio Mane headed wide from a Firmino cross, before Alexander-Arnold squared for Firmino, but the Brazilian sliced his shot wide.
Liverpool wing-back Andy Robertson tried an audacious chip from 40 yards with Gulacsi off his line, but his effort drifted just over the bar with the Red Bull keeper scrambling to get back.
Jurgen Klopp would have been pleased by the way his team bossed the latter stages of the first half, but he must have been absolutely delighted with the start they made to the second.
A great save from Alisson to deny Christopher Nkunku and then two goals in five minutes, with the help of a couple of Leipzig errors gave Liverpool a firm grip on the game.
First, Sabitzer played a weak back pass right into the patch of Salah and he knew exactly what the Egyptian would do. Salah applied the punishment with a shot low into the corner.
Then, with 58 minutes on the clock, Nordi Mukiele completely missed his attempt to clear a long ball and left it for Mane, who slid his shot beyond Gulacsi and in for the second.
Leipzig huffed and puffed, Sabitzer and Angelino having efforts on goal, but they never really looked like getting back into the game as Liverpool took a big advantage to the second leg.
Key statistics
RB Leipzig came into the game in fine form, but they were outplayed tonight by Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, who have now won 16 of their last 18 Champions League ties against German competition.
At the start of the knockout phase, the Champions League 2021 betting odds backed Liverpool as third favourites to win the tournament and on this showing, they have every chance, as they ended Leipzig’s four-match winning run.
Mo Salah has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season, one more than in the whole of the 2019/20 campaign.
What’s next?
Next up, the Red Bulls are back in Bundesliga action away to Hertha Berlin, who are in serious trouble in 15th place with just two draws and four defeats from the last six.
Arminia Bielefeld have drawn level with Hertha on 18 points having just held leaders FC Bayern to a 3-3 draw, a result which has given Red Bull hope as they now sit just five points behind the leaders.
Jurgen Klopp has recently insisted that he doesn’t need a break and his team certainly gave him a boost tonight. But he won’t get much rest over the next few days as he prepares his men for the Merseyside Derby on Saturday, a gem of a game we’ll be covering here at SBOTOP.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton missed a glorious chance to make an assault on the top four when they lost 0-2 at home to struggling Fulham, and they are currently in seventh, three points behind Liverpool with two games in hand.
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