RB Leipzig takes the first three points in the Champions League. However, the atmospheric evening was marred by captain Peter Gulácsi’s cruciate ligament tear.
Double packer Andre Silva grinned broadly, the equally outstanding Christopher Nkunku hugged his teammates in rows after an offensive spectacle. RB Leipzig got the sorely needed first three points in the Champions League, mainly thanks to its two goalscorers, but the convincing 3-1 (1-0) against Celtic Glasgow was badly marred: Captain Peter Gulácsi falls with a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament right knee out for months.
Gulácsi had to be substituted after just 13 minutes, but Leipzig quickly recovered from this early shock. Nkunku (27th), who is said to have already signed for Chelsea, and Silva (64th/77th) scored in a fast-paced game for the Saxons. Even the interim equalization by the Portuguese Jota (47th) did not deter the committed hosts in front of the national coach Hansi Flick.
“It’s important that we got the first three points,” said Janis Blaswich, who made his first appearance in the Champions League after Gulácsi’s absence – and put in a commanding performance. “You have to be ready at all times,” said the 31-year-old keeper, who immediately looked ahead: “We still have three difficult games ahead of us in which we have to do our best.” This is especially true for himself.
With the first win, coach Marco Rose’s team moved past the Scottish champions to third place and kept their chances for the knockout round before the second leg on Tuesday (9:00 p.m. / DAZN). The success could have been even better, but goals from Nkunku (18′) and Dominik Szoboszlai (61′) were disallowed for offside. Szoboslai also hit the post (57′). “That’s part of it, you can’t let yourself be taken out,” said Blaswich.
After the false start with bankruptcies against Shakhtar Donetsk (1: 4) and at Real Madrid (0: 2), Leipzig started with the recognizable will to get the first three points. When Celtic got better, the Gálacsi accident happened (10th): First the Hungarian made a mistake in the build-up game, then he buckled his right leg. After minutes of treatment, he had to be carried off the field.
Celtic comes out of the dressing room furiously
RB then struck in the style of a guest team: Xaver Schlager captured the ball after a corner by pressing, Andre Silva pushed through to Nkunku and he completed the counterattack from an acute angle to make it 1-0. Even after that, the game remained entertaining, the hosts repeatedly countered dangerously.
Celtic came out of the cabin furiously – and were quickly rewarded: RB reacted angrily to the equalizer and ran, Szoboszlai hit the post (57th). Four minutes later he flicked the ball into the net from 20 yards out, but referee Espen Eskas canceled that goal too because Silva had been in the field of view of keeper Joe Hart.
All discussions quickly became superfluous: Hart played a bad pass into the feet of Szoboszlai, who passed it on to Silva. The striker pushed in with the help of the inside post. In the closing stages, Silva made everything clear with his second goal after a remarkable move.