In the last fixture of the Champions League group stage, RB Leipzig, the German side gave all they had to grab the 3 points against Manchester United in a thrilling 3-2 win. The result took Leipzig to the top of Group H thereby securing their place for the knockouts.
Manchester United, despite having an impressive start to their UCL campaign, crashed out and will be playing in the Europa League.
Leipzig displayed a very energetic first half contrasting to United’s sloppy start. Angeliño, Haidara, and Kluivert were on target for Leipzig while Fernandes and Pogba struck late for the away side.
RB LEIPZIG 3-2 MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS:
Julian Nagelsmann made three change to the side that faced Bayern at the weekend. Kampl came in place of Adams, Olmo started ahead of Kluivert and Orban replaced Upamecano.
They started with a 3-4-2-1 formation with Olmo leading from the front.
Manchester United started with a 3-4-1-2 formation. De Gea returned to the posts and Luke Shaw came back from injury to partner Maguire and Lindelof in the defence.
United were without the services of Cavani and Martial who suffered injuries in the game against West Ham.
RB LEIPZIG 3-2 MANCHESTER UNITED MATCH ANALYSIS:
RB Leipzig started the game with great intent and were rewarded within the second minute.
Sabitzer sent a perfect ball from the left over the defence to Angeliño in the right-wing. The unmarked wing-back had acres of space to take a calm first touch and shoot it past De Gea towards the far post.
Leipzig did not have to wait for too long for their second goal. Angeliño whipped in a cross towards the far side of the goal and Haidara made a run to volley it home.
German giants thought that they had made it 3-0 when Orban tapped into an empty net after Konate’s header hit the post. However, he was in an offside position and VAR ruled out the goal.
Ole Gunnar got Van de Beek in for Telles at halftime hoping that it would ignite another comeback. But another piece of sloppy defending from United cost them the game.
Angeliño chipped the ball into the box, a rather slow one. Neither Maguire nor De Gea reacted to it. Justin Kluivert made a quick run into the 6-yard box and delightfully chipped it past the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.
Greenwood won United a penalty in the 80th minute and Bruno Fernandes slotted it to the left to pull one back for United.
Two minutes later, Fernandes whipped a corner to the far post. Pogba rose highest and headed it to the face of the goal. Maguire was about to hit it but it hit Konate and the ball snuck into the goal.
It wasn’t going to be another comeback night for United and they were punished for a really poor start.
Leipzig host Werder Bremen on the weekend while United would shift the focus to their first Manchester derby of the season.
NOTABLE PLAYER PERFORMANCES:
Angeliño(8.5/10) MOM: Constant threat down the left. Involved in every goal.
Péter Gulácsi(8/10): Made some really good saves. Kept Leipzig in the game.
Mason Greenwood(7/10): Showed his brilliance with the ball. Unlucky not to score.
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