mollyfamwatSalah’s goal was his seventh in seven games and took him to 24 goals for the season – one more than last season.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp says his side disappointed many people’s expectations by winning the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against RB Leipzig.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane played with five minutes left to play at the start of the second half at the Puskas Arena in Budapest due to restrictions imposed by Covid 19.
It came after the Reds suffered three consecutive Premier League defeats – results that prevented Klopp from defending the English title.
But Tuesday’s performance looked more like last season’s dominant game, where great experience and quality finally played against a German team prone to mistakes.
I think a lot of people expected us to slip again because of the situation and the boys didn’t slip and I’m very happy with that, Klopp told BT Sport.
It was the game we wanted, the game we needed. Leipzig can be a real monster – they take control of teams, they are very physical and we controlled them superbly today.
We’ve been very good for two years, and this year we’re having some problems. It’s okay to start a conversation. I have no problem with that. But the boys have shown what they are capable of.
Liverpool largely dominated possession of the ball and created the best chances before half-time, but two defensive errors and two clean kicks turned the game on its head and led to a draw.
Salah showed a lot of flair by quickly picking up the back pass and then finishing cleanly.
Mane was just as awake after that, taking advantage of a failed clearance attempt by Nordy Muchele to pierce Peter Gulacci and shoot.
After five minutes, however, they were lucky not to fall behind when Dani Olmo’s header from an Angelino cross only hit the underside of the post.
After holding on to a 2-0 lead, Klopp’s 11 will be looking for a win at Anfield on the 10. March to defend their league lead and are considered clear favourites to advance a round compared to last season.
Liverpool takes first step towards recovery
Between the last group game and this season, Liverpool have exploded a bit. Their long run of unbeaten home games has come to an end, as has their struggle for the FA Cup this season, and their last three league games have ended in defeat, prompting Klopp to wave the white flag for their title defence.
On Tuesday night, however, they needed to be reminded of the qualities that had led them to winning the league and the Champions League trophy the previous season.
After Olmo’s header, Leipzig took control before their opponent, who reached the semi-finals of this competition last year, eliminated Manchester United in the group stage this season and is currently second in the Bundesliga.
The match was heralded as a master versus apprentice contest, one of Germany’s best managerial exports of the modern era, in Klopp versus the smartest young man in the country – perhaps the continent -, Julian Nagelsmann.
It showed the common DNA of both sides who wanted to play on the front lines in enemy territory. Players ran forward when they had the ball in their hands and struggled with the pressure when they didn’t. Fire fights fire with fire.
A frantic and entertaining spectacle unfolded in which even the most acclaimed defenders were put to the test and forced to make mistakes, including Bayern Munich’s Diot Upamekano, who kept giving the ball away as Mane and Salah gathered behind him.
Although Klopp’s eleven were better in the first half, pressing more often and creating more chances, they failed to get their noses in front.
After just 30 seconds, Salah’s shot was blocked by Gulacsi after slipping behind the Leipzig defence, before Roberto Firmino fired into the side netting from a tight angle.
Mane intercepted another chance, Robertson came up with an effort almost through the middle on the next Gulacci, and Firmino put the ball in the net, but not before Mane put the ball back in the middle.
But that was all forgotten before the hour, when the German team pulled away and Salah and Mane took advantage.
Leipzig never really recovered, their only real chance to salvage anything in Merseyside was a shot from a tight angle that was deflected by Hwang Hee-chan in the timeout.
For the Reds, it’s a big step towards the quarter-finals and the first step towards a possible return to their glory days.
Klopp’s team leads the stats – Stats
- Since Jürgen Klopp took charge of Liverpool’s first Champions League game in September 2017, the Reds have conceded more goals in the league than any other team (18).
- In 11 home games in the Champions League (W6 D2 L3), RB Leipzig have kept the zero just twice, despite losing against Lyon for the first time since October 2019.
- Of the top five players in European competitions this season, only Robert Lewandowski (30) has scored more goals in all competitions than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (24).
- Salah scored 24 goals in 34 games across all competitions this season, surpassing his performance throughout the 2019-20 season, in which he scored 23 goals in 48 appearances.
- Curtis Jones and Ozan Kabaka, both in their 20s, are the second time Liverpool have used two under-21 players for the top 11 in the Champions League Round of 16, as they did at Juventus in April 2005 (Scott Carson and Anthony de Tallec).
- Liverpool midfielder Thiago has won each of his last 11 Champions League appearances. This gives the Spaniard the longest winning streak in league history, alongside Javi Martinez (November 2020) and Dani Carvajal (April 2018).
- In his 114th. Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson celebrated his 50th birthday with Liverpool in all competitions. Score for the Reds. Only Jan Oblak (59) and Ederson (64) have scored more goals in the first five European Championships since joining the Reds in the 2018/19 season.
- English teams have now won all four European Cup and Champions League games in Hungary, with Leeds United (1969 and 1974) and Liverpool (2009 and 2021) winning twice.
- Leipzig’s match against Liverpool was Hungary’s first European Cup and Champions League knockout game in almost 30 years, since Honved beat Sampdoria 2-1 in Budapest in the Round of 16 of the 1991/92 tournament.
The player of the game
Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah
RB Leipzig
- Team number3Player nameAngelino
- Team number11 Player name Hwang Hee-Chan
- Team number 1Player nameGulasi
- Team number 25Player nameOlmo
- Team number 18Player name Nkunku
- Team number 7Player nameSabitzer
- Team number14 Player nameAdams
- Team number44PlayernameCamper
- Team number8Haydar Player name
- Team number16PseudoKlostermann
- Team number22Player nameMukele
- Team number9 Name of playerPoulsen
- Team number5Player nameUpamecano
- Team number4Player nameOrban
Lines
RB Leipzig
Training 3-1-4-2
1Gulasi
22Mukele5Upamecano16Klostermann
44Campa
14Adams8Haidara7Sabitzer3Angelino
25Olmo18Nkunku
- 1Gulasi
- 22MukeleReplaced by Orbanin 64’minutes.
- 5Upamecano
- 16Klostermann
- 44KampaReplaced by Hwang Hee-Chanath 73’minute
- 14 Adams
- 8HaidaraReserved after 5 minutesReserved by Poulsen after 64 minutes
- 7Sabitzer
- 3AngelinoReserved for 65Minutes
- 25OlmoBed on 76Minutes
- 18NkunkuReserved for 52Minutes
replaces
- 4Orban
- 6Conat
- 9Poulsen
- 11 Hwang Hee Jang
- 19Sirlot
- 20Samardzic
- 21Cluvert
- 23 Halstenberg
- 33 Martinez
- 35 Hartmann
- 39 Henry
Liverpool
Formation of a 4-3-3
1Alisson
66Alexander-Arnold19Kabak14Henderson26Robertson
17Jones5Wijnaldum6Thiago Alcántara
11Salah9Firmino10Mane
- 1Alisson
- 66 Alexander-Arnold
- 19Reservation at 68min.
- 14HendersonBooked at 81Minutes
- 26Robertson.
- 17 Jones
- 5Bijnaldum
- 6Tiago AlcantaraReplaced by Oxlada-Chamberlain after 72′ minutes
- 11SalahReplaced byNWilliamsin 90’minutes
- 9FirminReplaced by Shakir after 72 minutes
- 10 Manet
replaces
- 13Adrien
- 15Oxlada-Chamberlain
- 21Cymicas
- 23Shakiri
- 27Origi
- 28Davis.
- 46R Williams
- 47Phillips
- 62Kelleher
- 64Cain
- 65 Clarkson.
- 76H Williams
Real-time text
- End of match, RB Leipzig 0, Liverpool 2.
- End of the second half, RB Leipzig 0, Liverpool 2.
- The attempt failed. Hee-Chan Hwang (RB Leipzig) shoots from outside the box with his right foot, but misses to the left. Prepared by Tyler Adams with a through-and-through.
- Offside, Liverpool. Xherdan Shaqiri plays a forward pass but Neko Williams is caught offside by the referee.
- Substitution : Liverpool. Neko Williams replaces Mohamed Salah.
- Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) is penalised after committing a foul.
- Marcel Sabitzer (RB Leipzig) hits a free kick in the opponent’s half.
- Corner, Liverpool. Introduced by Dayot Upamekano.
- The attempt failed. Lukas Klostermann’s (RB Leipzig) right footed shot is high and wide to the right side of the box.
- Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) has been booked for foul play.
- Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) is penalised after committing a foul.
- Hee-Chan Hwang (RB Leipzig) hits a free kick on the opponent’s half.
- The attempt failed. Angelinho (RB Leipzig) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Sponsored by Tyler Adams.
- The attempt failed. Marcel Sabitzer’s (RB Leipzig) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved.
- Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) is penalised after committing a foul.
- Angelinho (RB Leipzig) is awarded a free kick in the half of the opposition.
- Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig) has been booked for a foul.
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool) hits a free kick on the opponent’s half.
- Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig) is penalised after committing a foul.
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool) hits a free kick on the opponent’s half.
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