RB Leipzig vs Liverpool LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Darwin Nunez goal secures win
RB Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool: Arne Slot’s men remain unbeaten so far in European after overcoming the German side
Liverpool weathered a late Leipzig storm to secure a 1-0 win on their travels in the Champions League. The Reds are still unbeaten in the European top-flight with three wins from their three matches and join Aston Villa on a maximum nine points.
There were two decisive factors in the game. The first was Darwin Nunez, a striker in desperate need of a goal. He popped up in the first half to get on the end of a headed effort from Mo Salah. Salah’s shot looked to be going in, but Nunez made sure and sent Liverpool ahead just moments after the hosts had had a goal disallowed.
The second factor was Liverpool’s deputy goalkeeper Coaimhin Kelleher. The Irishman had a superb outing making around six solid saves to deny a forward line containing Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons and keep a clean sheet under a late surge from the German side.
At time it wasn’t pretty but Liverpool managed the game well and got themselves over the line.
Relive the Champions League action with our live blog below:
Liverpool team changes
Arne Slot makes three changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Chelsea at the weekend. Kostas Tsimikas comes into the defence in place of Andy Robertson.
In midfield Alexis Mac Allister comes in for Curtis Jones while Darwin Nunez starts and Diogo Jota drops out due to injury.
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool line-ups
RB Leipzig XI: Gulacsi, Geertruida, Orban, Nusa, Haidara, Simons, Openda, Vermeeren, Lukeba, Sesko, Henrichs
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
Szoboszlai returns to Leipzig
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai makes his return to a former club tonight when the Reds face RB Leipzig.
In 91 appearances for Leipzig between 2021 and 2023, Szoboszlai scored 20 goals and provided 22 assists. He won the German Cup in both 2021/22 and 2022/23, scoring the second goal in the latter victory – his last game for the German club.
Curtis Jones embodies Steven Gerrard as Liverpool pass toughest test under Arne Slot
When Arne Slot had suggested Chelsea were potential champions, it posed the question of whether they could keep up with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. It soon transpired they could not keep up with the Joneses.
Or not Curtis Jones, anyway. Winners are not always scored by the best player on the pitch but, in a match that could shape two clubs’ seasons, this one was.
Jones’ display of extraordinary dynamism restored Liverpool to the top of the table. It meant that Chelsea, already beaten by Manchester City, have failed their two biggest tests of the season so far. Liverpool, now seven points clear of them, have passed their toughest.
Curtis Jones embodies Steven Gerrard as Liverpool pass toughest test under Arne Slot
Rose not stressing over Leipzig’s European form
RB Leipzig have ot won in the Champions League yet this season but their manager Marco Rose isn’t too worried about the situation and hopes his players will be able to take points away from Liverpool this evening.
“To lose is never good, we are not relaxed, but we know we could have won more points with maybe a better performance an with more luck,” Rose said when asked about their Champions League campaign so far.
“Now we face Liverpool, another great team. It is our third match with five more coming up, also against strong opponents. Considering our start to this competition, of course there is a little bit of pressure built up.
“(Wednesday) will not be decisive but it will be important to get some points, to relieve some of the pressure, and it would be cool to start that against Liverpool.”
“We’ll work together again”: Leipzig boss Marco Rose on Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp will not be at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night but he will loom large over the Champions League clash between RB Leipzig and his former club Liverpool.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose knows Klopp better than most, having spent six seasons playing for him at Mainz, and he learned a huge amount from his old boss, both as a player and now a coach.
“(When I was a player) he always brought a lot of energy into our team,” Rose said. “Maybe we would be feeling weak but he came in and gave us the confidence, the power to play the next match and to believe in yourself, to believe that every situation can be turned around.
“As a coach, you can learn a lot from him. We might not always have been of the same opinion, but how he leads a group is unique, his honesty. Then it is especially about defending that I learned from him a lot.
“He is a great personality and a great person. I loved working together with him and I’m happy that we’ll work together again.”
Chiesa still not ready to feature
Federico Chiesa was one of Liverpool’s summer signings and would have expected to play a big part in their campaigns in the Premier League and Champions League this season.
But, he’s been plagued with a lack of match fitness due to injuries and other factors meaning he is still not available to Arne Slot.
“He missed a complete pre-season, I said this many times, and going to a league where the intensity might even be higher than the Italian league. We just faced the two Italian teams so I can say this now,” said Slot.
“So that makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the team is at at the moment. That has not so much to do with the Italian league or the Premier League, that has more to do with him missing a complete pre-season and that is so difficult for every player – when the games are constantly there – to build them up towards the levels we are at.
“So, difficult to say [a timeframe] but it’s a big disappointment for him that he is going in and out of the training sessions all the time.”
Arne Slot provides Diogo Jota update
Diogo Jota was subbed off in the first half of Liverpool’s match against Chelsea at the weekend and now looks set for a spell on the sidelines.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot addressed Jota’s injury saying: “We have a few issues at the moment.
“He got a knock [on Sunday], like we all saw, when he was trying to go to goal, brought down. That was not the biggest problem but I think the other player fell onto him and that hurt him that much that he couldn’t continue to play and he couldn’t come with us for now.
“It’s difficult to judge at this moment of time to see how long that’s going to take. It’s bruised, so we have to see how long it is going to take.”
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key Liverpool trio will not prove a distraction
Arne Slot insisted he will be involved in contract talks with Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah by saying it would be “weird” if he was not consulted and shrugging off suggestions the right-back would be distracted as Real Madrid’s interest in him has become more public.
Liverpool’s captain, vice-captain and top scorer are all out of contract at the end of the season but Slot is adamant it is not an issue for him and he would only be worried if he reached the last day of the campaign with their futures still up in the air.
The Dutchman is Liverpool’s first head coach – predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s job title was manager and he had more control, albeit without getting his way when he wanted to keep Roberto Firmino and James Milner in 2023 – meaning sporting director Richard Hughes will assume overall responsibility for talks with the three key players. Slot confirmed, though, that he will play a part in discussions.
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key trio will not prove a distraction
How does the Champions League format work in 2024/25?
The pivotal change in Champions League format for this season is the departure from the former group stage system. From the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (former group stage). Those 36 clubs will participate in a single league competition in which all 36 competing clubs are ranked together.
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase, facing fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away.
To determine the eight different opponents, the teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, with no access to the Europa League.
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