RB Leipzig has surprisingly but deservedly reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with a courageous and self-confident appearance. The underdog won the quarter-finals against Atlético Madrid 2-1. The Saxons took a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute thanks to a header by Dani Olmo after a nice preparatory work by Marcel Sabitzer. Madrid equalized with a penalty from Joao Felix, who had been fouled himself, in the 71st minute. However, Leipzig could not be dissuaded from its path even by this setback. Tyler Adams scored in the 88th minute after a nice combination with his first goal for Leipzig to make it 2-1.
RB then passionately defended its lead in almost eight minutes of stoppage time and will now play against Paris St. Germain on Tuesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League), eleven years after it was founded and started in the fifth division Entry into the finals of the European premier class.
“I’m so proud of the team, of every single player. Hats off. There was no way we wanted to go home, we packed our bags for many days, “said striker Marcel Sabitzer after the final whistle at DAZN and added:” That was a tough job, but we did a great job. “
Leipzig is pushing the pace
In the final stages of the Spanish season, coach Julian Nagelsmann realized that Atlético had lost a bit of energy in a relatively short time after the numerous games. He reckoned against the strong team of coach Diego Simone, who had defeated defending champion Liverpool FC in the round of 16, with a physical and exhausting game. That’s why he put two robust offensive players in the starting line-up with Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen – in order to later take advantage of possible gaps in the Madrid block with strong offensive players like Emil Forsberg and Patrik Schick, who were initially on the bench.
Outsider Leipzig pushed the pace right from the start in Lisbon – and after 45 minutes it was said that the first part of Nagelsmann’s plan had worked. Leipzig showed a strong and concentrated appearance in the first half, took control of the game again and again, sometimes with long and fast ball relays. Leipzig had 62 percent possession, played significantly more passes and had a higher pass rate. However, and that was a decisive shortcoming in the structured and self-confident overall appearance of Leipzig: In front of the goal, the Saxons lacked punch, also because the last or penultimate pass repeatedly lacked precision.
But above all the loss of Timo Werner was noticeable, his speed and unpredictability were lacking in the Leipzig game far more than Nagelsmann had hoped and perhaps expected. Madrid had the best chance in the first half, but goalkeeper Gulacsi blocked Carrasco’s shot from a good ten meters for a corner.
After the break, it only took six minutes for Leipzig to correct its only weakness – the final weakness. After a nice play, Sabitzer crossed from the side of the penalty area into the middle, where Olmo headed the ball into the left corner with a run-up and overview. It was Olmo’s third goal of the Champions League season, the other two he had scored in the group stage for Dinamo Zagreb.
Atlético coach Simeone reacted to the deficit with the substitution of Joao Felix, who had come from Benfica Lisbon at the beginning of the season for 126 million euros, but has so far not been able to assert himself in Madrid. Felix immediately brought unrest in Leipzig’s defense to the strong Upamecano. Only thirteen minutes after being substituted on, Felix scored the 1-1 equalizer with a penalty that Halstenberg had caused on him.
After that an even game developed, scoring chances on both sides remained rare. Nagelsmann brought two fresh forces in the 83rd minute with Schick and Haidara – and was only allowed to cheer with his team a little later. After a lightning-fast combination from Halstenberg to Sabitzer, Angelino cleared the advanced Adams with a clever cross pass at the edge of the penalty area, where a huge gap opened up. Atlético couldn’t keep up in the backward movement. Savic then deflected Adams’ shot into his own goal untenable – the greatest success in the young Leipzig club history was perfect.
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