Mith the last contingent, RB Leipzig, plagued by corona worries, dismantled Club Bruges and preserved the chance of wintering in Europe. The German championship runner-up, supervised by co-trainer Achim Beierlorzer, prevailed 5-0 (4-0) against the completely overwhelmed Belgian champions on Wednesday evening and thus decided the direct duel for third place in group A.
If Leipzig and Bruges are tied with four points so far after the last matchday in two weeks, RB can continue playing in the Europa League. Christopher Nkunku (12th minute) provided the early and well-deserved lead with his sixth premier class goal of the season. Emil Forsberg (17th) increased by a penalty kick, André Silva’s header (26th) was in principle the preliminary decision. Again it was Forsberg (45th + 1) who set the next highlight shortly before the break. The final point was again Nkunku in stoppage time and made the biggest victory of RB in the Champions League perfect. Leipzig will play against Manchester City on December 7th for the winter in the European Cup, Bruges at Paris Saint-Germain.
Without their trainer Jesse Marsch, who tested positive for Corona, the Leipzigers had traveled to Belgium. Ten players were missing. Most recently, defense chief Willi Orban had also signed off and had traveled back to Germany by car a few hours before kick-off with symptoms of colds. According to the club, a corona test at Orban was negative.
Corona, injury misery, a disappointing Champions League season: none of this seemed to impress the Leipzig embarrassment team. The guests controlled the game from the start. The Bruges, who would have had the chance to get into the knockout round of the Champions League if they had won, could not cope with the early pressing of the Saxons. The Belgians did not have a clear scoring chance in the first half. Different RB: Nordi Mukiele (6th) checked Bruges keeper Simon Mignolet. Six minutes later, Mignolet had no chance of preventing Nkunku’s goal. Shortly thereafter, the strong starting eleven debutant Brian Brobbey took out a penalty. This time Forsberg was allowed to compete after giving a penalty two weeks ago in the 2-2 win against Paris Saint-Germain Silva. Forsberg sure transformed. Silva and again Forsberg ensured unexpectedly clear conditions before the break and silenced the Bruges fans in the Jan Breydel Stadium. Temporary head coach Beierlorzer applauded each of his players as they walked into the dressing room.
After the change, RB Leipzig switched to administrative mode a little without being in serious danger. The hosts came into promising situations a few times, but gambled them miserably. The Leipzig team remained the more dangerous team. Silva had two opportunities in the 73rd and 74th to increase to 5-0, but failed best Belgian Mignolet. On the other side, Josep Martinez was also able to distinguish himself. The representative of Corona-infected Peter Gulasci showed his skills against Noa Lang (75th). Nkunku then crowned his performance with his second goal in the game and seventh in the Champions League.
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