RB defies witches' cauldron: First time in the round of 16 ahead of schedule
Passed the maturity test, reached the round of 16: RB Leipzig were unfazed by the heated atmosphere in Belgrade's Marakana and have advanced to the knockout round of the Champions League for the first time. Xavi Simons (8th minute) and Lois Openda (77th) scored for the visitors in their 2:1 (1:0) soccer duel with Red Star Belgrade.
The equalizer (81') after Benjamin Henrichs' deflected pass from Guelor Kanga kept the game exciting until the end. But because defending champions Manchester City beat Young Boys Bern at the same time, Leipzig are through to the next round after just four of their six group games and cheered in the pouring rain along with the 500 or so fans who had made the journey.
Belgrade's fitness coach Nikola Todoric was shown the red card after 20 minutes after intercepting the onrushing Lois Openda in front of the bench. It was initially unclear whether this was a verbal altercation or whether the referee thought he had held Openda's arm longer than necessary in front of the 41,961 spectators.
Early lead does good
By this point, Leipzig had long since taken control and made good use of the available space. There was no sign of the compact defense the hosts had announced. After two recent defeats without scoring against Wolfsburg and Mainz, Leipzig's early lead thanks to the impressive Xavi goal also did them a world of good. The exceptional talent drove the ball into the penalty area himself and then flicked it into the far corner with great feeling and skill. Omri Glazer, who was outstanding in the first leg, stretched in vain in the hosts' goal.
As in the first leg, however, Leipzig lost momentum after taking an early lead. Only a deflected shot from Openda created the next chance (41'). Nevertheless, the visitors should have increased their lead before the break. First, Openda failed to score in front of Glazer after a blatant misplaced pass from his opponent (44'), and shortly afterwards captain Emil Forsberg got his shot away in the penalty area and put the ball next to the goal from a good eleven meters. The Swede had been left out of the starting line-up three times in a row, with Christoph Baumgartner having to take his place on the bench.
The first clear chance after the break also went unused. Benjamin Sesko struck the ball low against the post from outside the penalty area (51'). Coach Marco Rose then gesticulated with his arms on the sidelines and urged his team to continue playing forward. Openda's back-heeled effort seconds later was saved by goalkeeper Glazer (53), who kept the Serbs, who are second in the domestic league behind Partizan Belgrade and under pressure, in the game.
Rainy battle
As the game progressed and the rain became heavier, Rose changed his attacking approach and brought on Lukas Klostermann for Seko and Baumgartner for Forsberg. Defensively, Leipzig now played with a five-man backline when Red Star had possession - but were unable to prevent the hosts' best chance. RB keeper Janis Blaswich had to react brilliantly twice within seconds when first Peter Olayinka and then Cherif Ndiaye fired at his goal from close range.
Leipzig nevertheless kept their cool and took advantage of the first good counter-attacking opportunity to make it 2-0. Xaver Schlager sent Openda on his way with a wonderful pass and the 23-year-old seemingly sealed victory and a place in the last 16 with a shot into the far corner, before the 81st-minute equalizer made things even more tense. Glaswich had to react strongly once again in stoppage time.
RB Leipzig's victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League secured their spot in the knockout stage, as they finished group stage games early. In the match, Xavi Simons and Lois Openda scored for RB Leipzig, with Openda also providing an assist. During the game, RB Leipzig faced Red Star Belgrade, a team from Serbia, who are currently second in their domestic league behind Partizan Belgrade.
Source: www.dpa.com
