Bundesliga

2020-08-18T20:45:00Z

Leipzig 0-3 PSG: as it happened!

Christopher Nkunku and RB Leipzig just could not match Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.
Christopher Nkunku and RB Leipzig just could not match Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.

RB Leipzig's incredible run to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals came to an end at the final-four stage after defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

As it happened!

RB Leipzig 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Goals: 0-1 
Marquinhos (13'), 0-2 Di Maria (42'), 0-3 Bernat (56')

FULL TIME!

Leipzig's incredible journey through the Champions League in 2019/20 comes to an end. A season that will never be forgotten by the club and Die Roten Bullen fans as they reached the semi-finals of a European competition for the very first time. Nagelsmann and his side will be back in the tournament again in 2020/21 and will want to repeat their success of this season.

90' - ADDED TIME

We'll have two mintues of added time here with Leipzig continuing to press forward.

82' - NO LUCK FOR LEIPZIG

Superb play going forward as the ball is played across the face of the PSG goal with pace and Forsberg is there to hit it at goal. It bounces back off his own man though in Poulsen and the rebound is cleared. Orban is on in place of Klostermann here, too.

80' - LEIPZIG SHOWING HEART

The Bundesliga side are not giving up on this at all besides the fact that luck just has not been on their side tonight. Mistakes have been made and they have not seen the ball fall their way at the other end in what has been a frustrating evening, but Nagelsmann's side will never let it go easily.

75' - BIG CHANCE FOR LEIPZIG

Angelino fires a shot at goal from the edge of the box and Rico can only parry it down in front of him. To Leipzig's annoyance, the rebound just doesn't fall to a white shirt and instead PSG can break.

72' - GULACSI MAKES BIG SAVES

Mbappe is played in on goal with Upamecano trying to battle back. The French forwards gets a shot past his compatriot put Gulacsi raises a big fist to beat the shot away before Gulacsi saves again after a long-range effort from Paredes.

70' - NOW OR NEVER FOR LEIPZIG

Approaching the final 20 minutes here in Lisbon and Leipzig are reaching last-chance-saloon. It's been a frustrating evening so far but there's still time to change their fortunes. At the moment, though, it's PSG both in control of the scoreline and the ball as they remain one pass ahead of the Bundesliga side.

64' - ANOTHER LEIPZIG CHANGE

Adams is now on in central midfield, replacing Kampl for Leipzig. Fresh legs are on the pitch and fresh motivation. One goal can spark a comeback here if the Bundesliga side can get it...

62' - LEIPZIG CHANGE

Halstenberg now comes on, replacing Laimer just after the hour mark. He goes onto the left side of Leipzig's three-man defence.

60' - GREAT START TO SECOND HALF UNDONE

Leipzig now have to maintain belief that they can get back into this game. There is still 30 minutes to go and that's plenty of time in football, as we have seen in the Bundesliga over the years. It's been a much brighter start for Nagelsmann's side in this second half but once again, their own mistakes are letting them down here.

56' - PSG HAVE A THIRD

More defensive struggles for Leipzig as Mukiele is looking to bring the ball out of defence and goes down too easily. Di Maria gathers possession and crosses into the box for Bernat who heads at goal and it goes over the line before Neymar smashes it over the line again.

52' - FORSBERG HAS A GO

The substitute comes inside from the left flank and has a touch of space ahead of him. Rather than go for a pass he punts for a shot at goal but his effort is always rising. Leipzig have continued their strong start, however, and are causing PSG problems.

50' - BETTER START FROM LEIPZIG

Nagelsmann's side have controlled almost all of the ball here so far having returned to a three-man defence, with Schick and Poulsen leading the line and Sabitzer, Kampl and Forsberg pulling the strings in the midfield. Promising start.

46' - KICK-OFF!

We're back underway for the second half here and there have been two changes for Leipzig. Schick is on for Olmo and Forsberg is on for Nkunku as Nagelsmann's changes his style of attack.

HALF-TIME!

It must be said, Paris Saint-Germain were in good form in the first half here. But the reality is that a set-piece and a defensive mistake from Leipzig have PSG two goals to the good. A disappointing first half to say the least for Nagelsmann and his side, but they are by no means out of this one yet. A huge half-time team talk coming from the German coach.

44' - ALMOST THREE FOR PSG

The French side break once again down the right and it's Mbappe who is sent away into the Leipzig box. He looks up and cuts the ball back for Neymar, but he miscues his shot towards the near post. Leipzig are getting their time on the ball but aren't making the most of it, and are struggling to contain the French attack at the other end. Half-time will be crucial for Nagelsmann and his side.

42' - PSG TWO AHEAD

Leipzig hand PSG a second as Gulacsi's pass out from the back is misplaced and goes to the French side. The ball is played forward and Neymar flicks it beyond the Leipzig defence to Di Maria behind him, who then slots the ball past Gulacsi.

38' - LACKLUSTER LEIPZIG

Nagelsmann's men have been a bit flustered by the occasion perhaps so far. Leipzig have given the ball away far more easily than they did against Atletico, and have conceded too many fouls for Nagelsmann's liking. He will be hoping his side can keep this at 1-0 into the break in order to re-group fully, as the tactician will certainly have some tricks up his sleeve for the second half.

35' - NEYMAR HITS THE POST

The Brazilian goes for goal from all of 35 yards, wide right from the Leipzig box. Gulacsi is expecting a cross from the PSG free-kick and has to scramble back towards his own goal and he sees the ball bounce away off the post once again.

33' - LEIPZIG CONCEDING PLENTY OF FOULS

The Bundesliga side have already committed 12 fouls so far tonight, but the tackling has been no firmer than they are used to making in the German top-flight. They are sticking to their guns with high-pressing and hard-fought challenges throughout the pitch.

30' - MIDFIELD BATTLE HERE 

In the last five minutes the ball has stayed almost exclusively in the middle of the pitch. Leipzig and PSG's midfield can barely be separated with Nagelsmann's side pressing well to make things difficult for the French side going forward. At the other end, Olmo, Nkunku and Poulsen are taking time to click again - as they did against Atletico.

25' - BIG CHANCE FOR POULSEN

Leipzig break well down the right and it's superb work from Laimer who battles his way into the PSG box. He's able to look up and spot Poulsen's run towards the near post and the Dane meets his pass, but his shot glances wide past the near post of Rico's goal. If that had been on target, it would have been tough to stop.

23' - SABITZER FREE-KICK BLOCKED

A good chance for Leipzig after Olmo was brought down 20 yards from the PSG goal. His free-kick was blocked behind, however, with the wall doing it's job and the chance goes away. But good work from Nagelsmann's side forcing their way forward again here. Still early days.

20' - SILVA TAKES A KNOCK

The PSG captain has been taking some treatment after a hit to the face during a Leipzig corner but he will be able to carry on. Leipzig now just seeing more of the ball and being able to play their game slightly. But their French opposition are also pressing high and well.

17' - HUGE SAVE FROM GULACSI

Herrera plays Mbappe in behind the Leipzig defence into the penalty area and he goes for goal first-time, but Gulacsi is out quickly to close the angle and he's able to make an important save at his near post. Leipzig with their backs against the wall at the moment, but that won't faze them.

16' - LEIPZIG PRESSING HARD

PSG have enjoyed most of the possession here in the early goings but Leipzig have not allowed things to be easy for them. Most of the ball has been played around the PSG defence due to Leipzig's pressing. The Bundesliga side just need to keep the ball longer when they get it.

13' - PSG TAKE THE LEAD

Di Maria curls a free-kick into the Leipzig box and Marquinhos runs free to put the ball past Gulacsi with a header. An early goal for the French side, and plenty of time for Leipzig to respond.

9' - SABITZER HAS A GO

The Austrian has time to turn around outside the PSG box looking for a pass. In the end, he decides to go for goal with the space afforded to him, but he doesn't get the connection he'd have hoped for on the ball and Rico makes a save.

7' - PSG HAVE THE BALL IN THE NET, BUT...

Gulacsi's attempted clearance is blocked by Neymar and falls to Mbappe to easily put into the Leipzig net, but the play is called back as Neymar handled the ball in order to block it. A fast start to this game with chances for both sides.

6' - NEYMAR HITS THE POST

A tidy move from PSG as Mbappe is given time to turn and find a pass through the Leipzig defence for Neymar to run onto. He puts the ball beyond Gulacsi but it clips the outside of the post and goes out of play. First warning sign for Leipzig.

5' - FOUR-MAN DEFENCE

Leipzig and Nagelsmann have changed things up here, returning to a four-man defence with Mukiele at right-back and Angelino at left-back. Nkunku and Olmo remain the main supports for Poulsen up top.

4' - FIRST CHANCE FOR LEIPZIG!

Upamecano finds Olmo in space in midfield and he turns well to find Nkunku with his back to goal in the PSG box. The Frenchman turns and shoots, but his effort is blocked and bounces through to Rico in the French goal. A great start here from Leipzig.

1' - KICK-OFF!

We're underway in Lisbon for this huge night in Leipzig's history. Can they reach the final? Let's find out...

10 MINUTES TO GO!

Leipzig will be finishing up their warm-ups now before returning to the changing rooms one last time before kick-off. It's a first time at this stage for all of these young players, one of the youngest squads in the entire competition this season. All of them will have dreamt of playing in a game like this tonight. Let's see if they can match their performance against Atletico to reach an incredible Champions League final, which could see them face Bundesliga rivals Bayern.

ADAMS WAITING IN THE WINGS

Leipzig's match-winner against Atletico - USMNT star Tyler Adams - came on from the bench in the last round to make his mark and book his side's place in tonight's game. Once again, the midfielder is among the reinforcements for tonight, and he knows he's ready when he's needed.

"This fearless mentality that our team has, being such a young team, we go into these games thinking we can win everything. Confidence is key in these types of moments, but going out there and being able to execute is huge as well. I think that for a young team we have this fearless mentality, and obviously with a fearless coach it makes it a lot easier."

Click here to read more!

NAGELSMANN VS. TUCHEL

Were it not for PSG coach Thomas Tuchel, Nagelsmann might not now be preparing Leipzig for a Champions League semi-final. Twelve years ago, Tuchel was coach of Augsburg's reserve team when centre-half Nagelsmann came to the realisation that his injured knee would not sustain a professional career. "After my injury I didn't want to have anything to do with the sport," he told CNN. "I wanted to get away for a while because I had invested so much time in it.

Click here to read the full story on the friendship and mentorship between Nagelsmann and Tuchel, two German coaches made in the Bundesliga.

NKUNKU AGAINST HIS FORMER SIDE

There's certainly a strong French connection in the Leipzig line-up tonight which will not only help them understand the PSG players on the pitch, but also how they want to play. Nkunku joined Leipzig last summer and faces the side who developed him through their academy tonight in his debut season in Germany. As well as Nkunku, of course, are Upamecano and Mukiele - both French themselves - who are tasked with stopping Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria tonight.

FROM BUNDESLIGA 2 TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

The Leipzig line-up tonight contains four of the seven players in Leipzig's squad that featured for them in their promotion-winning campaign in the Bundesliga 2 five years ago: Gulacsi, Klostermann, Sabitzer and Poulsen. The Danish striker, Poulsen, even captains the side once again with Orban - another of those seven, as well as Forsberg who has been with the club over the five years since their first days in the second division - out injured.

LEIPZIG TEAMS NEWS

Just one change for Leipzig from the win over Atletico Madrid. It sees Nordi Mukiele come into the three-man defence for Marcel Halstenberg, who picked up a head injury in the quarter-final. We will have to see whether it's Klostermann or Mukiele who starts on the left side of the defence, with Dayot Upamecano in the middle. Otherwise, it's all the start for Leipzig.

WELCOME!

Well ladies and gentleman, the next biggest night in RB Leipzig's history has arrived. After beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the quarter-finals, Nagelsmann and his side's reward is to face French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. It's the first time that Leipzig have reached this stage of any European competition and the first for PSG since 1994/95, but only one can move on to reach Sunday's final against either Bayern Munich or Lyon.

Line-ups

Leipzig: Gulacsi - Mukiele, Upamecano, Klostermann (Orban 83'), Angelino - Laimer (Halstenberg 62'), Kampl (Adams 64'), Sabitzer - Olmo (Schick 46'), Nkunku (Forsberg 46') - Poulsen (c)
Unused subs: Mvogo, Tschauner, Haidara, Lookman, Novoa, Borkwoski, Wosz
Out: Henrichs (ineligible), Hwang (ineligible), Konate (hip)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann

PSG: Rico - Kehrer, Silva (c), Kimpembe, Bernat - Herrera (Verratti 83'), Marquinhos, Paredes (Draxler 83') - Di Maria (Sarabia 87'), Neymar, Mbappe
Unused subs: Bulka, Innocent, Choupo-Moting, Icardi, Kurzawa, Diallo, Bakker, Gueye, Dagba
Out: Areola (ineligible), Navas (hamstring)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel

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