SAN FRANCISCO, November 05, (THEWILL) –Â Bundesliga’s RB Leipzig inflicted another defeat on Paris Saint-Germain to avenge their 2019-20 UEFA Champions League semi-final loss to the French champions, coming from behind to claim a potentially crucial 2-1 win in Group H.
PSG playing without both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar through injury, started brightly at Red Bull Arena and took an early lead through Argentine midfielder Angel Di Maria.
Careless defending from French centre back Dayot Upamecano gifted PSG that opener after just five minutes. Italian centre forward Moise Kean read the move correctly to intercept the defender’s attempted backpass and deftly played in Di Maria, who broke the deadlock.
A tremendous double save from PSG Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas prevented Leipzig from levelling almost immediately. Malian defender Amadou Haidara and Spanish winger Angelino were denied from close range in quick succession.
As Leipzig went forward for an equaliser, they continued to look extremely vulnerable at the back. It took the quick reflexes of their Hungarian keeper Peter Gulacsi to preserve that one-goal deficit. He was quick to get down low in the 16th minute to keep out Di Maria’s spot-kick after Upamecano, again, was penalised for handling Kean’s shot in the area.
Di Maria and Kean each had the ball in the net in the 39th and 40th minutes respectively but saw their goals correctly ruled out for offside. PSG’s failure to punish Leipzig’s poor defensive form proved costly immediately after when French left winger Christopher Nkunku rifled into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.
A great 54th minute run down the left from Leipzig’s winger Emile Forsberg ended with him blazing over the bar from a tight angle with just the keeper to beat. But, the Swede did have the decisive say in the 57th minute, after French defender Presnel Kimpembe handled a ball into the PSG box and the referee pointed to the spot. Forsberg sneaked his penalty into the bottom-left corner.
PSG’s Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye received a second yellow for fouling Amadou Haidara in a battle for a 50-50 ball and PSG’s frustrations were complete late in stoppage time when a cynical foul saw Kimpembe given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
The qualification battle in Group H was thrown open when Manchester United surprisingly lost to Istanbul Basaksehir. With this comeback, Leipzig upped their chances of progressing from the group stages.
But, it gets tougher for last season’s finalists. With two defeats from three games, PSG face a most significant challenge to reach the last 16 which is not helped with injuries to both Mbappe and Neymar and the red cards from this game.
Gueye became the first PSG player since Marco Verratti in March 2018 against Real Madrid to receive a red card in the UCL. Kimpembe followed him in injury time, capping a miserable night that also saw him concede the crucial penalty.
Leipzig, two points behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, host Freiburg on Saturday, when PSG welcome Rennes to the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
