RB Leipzig 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain: PSG suffers defeat due to neymar and mbappe’s absence

The winning penalty was scored by Emil Forsberg as RB Leipzig defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Champions League Group H.

For their 2019-20 Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig won a measure of revenge, coming from behind to secure a potentially crucial 2-1 victory in Group H.

PSG started brightly at Red Bull Arena and took an early lead through Angel Di Maria, despite being without both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar through injury.

The game, however, turned into a tale of two penalties, with Di Maria struggling to make it 2-0 from 12 yards before Christopher Nkunku, a former PSG midfielder, levelled in the 41st minute.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!! 😍😍😍

🔴⚪ #RBLeipzig #RBLPSG #UCL pic.twitter.com/byuvvtDqYn

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) November 4, 2020

Leipzig was then given the opportunity to complete the turnaround from the penalty spot and it was one that Emil Forsberg did not waste, sealing a win that put them level on points with group leaders Manchester United and three points away from PSG, who ended the game with nine men after Idrissa Gueye and Presnel Kimpembe were sent off.

After five minutes, Reckless defending from Dayot Upamecano gifted PSG the opener, Moise Kean intercepted his backpass attempt and deftly played in Di Maria to break the deadlock.

As Amadou Haidara and Angelino were denied from close range in rapid succession, only a tremendous double save from Keylor Navas stopped Leipzig from levelling almost immediately.

But Leipzig started to look incredibly shaky at the back and were grateful to Peter Gulacsi for maintaining a one-goal deficit as he got down low after Upamecano controlled Kean’s shot in the area to keep out Di Maria’s spot-kick.

A big run from Forsberg down the left ended with him blazing over the bar, but in the 57th minute he had the decisive say, slipping his penalty into the bottom-left corner after Kimpembe handled a ball into the PSG box.

In a fight for a 50-50 pass, Gueye got a second yellow for fouling Haidara and the frustrations of PSG were intensified late in stoppage time when a cynical foul saw Kimpembe giving his marching orders for his second bookable offense.

What does that imply? Leipzig gains a broad-open group advantage

The surprising loss by Manchester United to Istanbul Basaksehir left this party very much up for grabs and after this return, Leipzig will feel much better about their hopes of advancing.

Having lost 3-0 last season in the semi-finals, it looked like this game would end in a manner close to that dominated by PSG in the first half. After Di Maria missed with his penalty, however, Leipzig grew into the game and were good value for the three points.

With two losses in three games, the finalists of last season are facing a big challenge to reach the last 16.

A power for Forsberg

In Leipzig’s reversal, Forsberg was instrumental. He also played two crucial passes in addition to scoring the winning penalty and had an excellent passing accuracy of 92.9 percent in the PSG half.

Gueye and Kimpembe sees Red

Gueye became the first PSG player to earn a red card in the Champions League since Marco Verratti in March 2018 against Real Madrid. In injury time, Kimpembe followed him, capping a miserable night that saw him also concede the critical penalty.

And what is next?

Two points behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, Leipzig will host Freiburg on Saturday, when PSG will welcome Rennes in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes.