Soccer-Leipzig earn first Champions League win with 2-1 over Sporting


Soccer Football - Champions League - RB Leipzig v Sporting CP - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - January 22, 2025 RB Leipzig's Yussuf Poulsen scores their second goal REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - RB Leipzig battled past visitors Sporting 2-1 on Wednesday to earn their first victory in seven Champions League matches and dent their opponents' hopes of a top eight finish.

Leipzig, who had lost their previous six matches in the newly-created league phase and are already eliminated, took a deserved lead when Benjamin Sesko slid in to connect with a perfectly-timed David Raum cutback in the 19th minute.

Raum, back from an injury that had ruled him out in October, then put the ball in the net himself in the 31st minute but it was ruled offside.

The Portuguese, with coach Rui Borges making his Champions League debut, had their share of chances to level shortly before the break before Leipzig came close themselves when Xavi Simons fired over the bar in the 49th minute.

Amadou Haidara came even closer when his low drive bounced off the post but Sporting substitute Viktor Gyokeres took matters into his own hands, beating defender Willi Orban in a one-on-one before drilling in the equaliser in the 75th.

The visitors' joy only lasted three minutes before Yussuf Poulsen scrambled the ball over the line for the winner.

Sporting are in 19th place on 10 points, with one game left to play. The top eight teams advance to the round of 16 while the next 16 battle it out in a playoff for a place in the knockout stage.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Football

Soccer-Everton's new stadium welcomes 10,000 fans for test event
Soccer-Barca coach Flick backs VAR use in controversial win over Rayo Vallecano
Soccer-Snowstorm delays Messi's Inter Miami Champions Cup debut
Soccer-Barcelona edge Rayo to claim top spot with Lewandowski penalty
Soccer-Diving is killing football, says Atalanta's Gasperini ahead of Brugge clash
Soccer-Riascos double takes Pakhtakor into Asian Champions League last 16
Soccer-Feyenoord lose captain to knee injury for rest of season
Soccer-Bayern boss Kompany hopeful Kane will be fit to play against 'dangerous' Celtic
Soccer-Arsenal fined for player reaction following Lewis-Skelly red card
Soccer-Milan need to approach Feyenoord game like a final, says Ibrahimovic

Others Also Read