Paris Saint Germain were on the losing side on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League group H fixture against RB Leipzig. The French reigning champions visited Germany for their third Champions League match of the season and failed to do the needful to increase their chances of qualifying for the next stage of the competition.
RB Leipzig that just survived a humiliating 5-0 spanking from Manchester United in the Champions League on October 28, and a 1-0 defeat in the hands of Monchengladbach in Bundesliga on October 31, were not expected to do much in the fixture based on their current form. However, the German club came from behind to beat PSG 2-1.
PSG started the match on a high as Angel di Maria gave the visitors an early lead in the 6th minute but PSG manager Thomas Tuchel and his boys were not able to take advantage of the lead to score more goals despite being awarded a penalty.
Minutes after PSG failed to score the spot-kick, RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku stepped up to score the equalizer in the 41st minute and threw the game wide open. The first half ended in a draw but the second half saw a different kind of game from both sides.
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ā RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) November 4, 2020
PSG became more frustrated after RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg scored a penalty in the 57th minute of the match. Afterward, PSG’s Idrissa Gueye was red-carded in the 69th minute, followed by Presnel Kimpembe’s dismissal in the additional minute of the match.
Hence, the French club did not only return to France with a defeat but two of the club’s first eleven players will have to miss three successive Champions League matches due to the red card they received in the match.
More so, the defeat has relegated PSG to the third spot on Group H table just ahead of Istanbul Basaksehir that defeated Manchester United 2-1 on Wednesday. Both PSG and Basaksehir have lost two matches and won one each to merit the 3rd and 4th spots of the group.
While Manchester United and RB Leipzig have won two out of three Champions League matches and are currently occupying the first and second spots on the league table. This means that they both stand a chance of qualifying for the next round of the competition ahead of PSG if things remain the way they are.
“We played a team that was leading the Bundesliga a week ago, which is very strong, which plays a good game, and we could have led 2-0”, Thomas Tuchel said.
“It’s the life of a coach in Paris, I have the impression that the press, the environment is very critical, but that does not change my work with the team, nor with my staff.
“It’s the life of a trainer in Paris, it’s never enough, I don’t have any problem.
“We will try again and if we win at the Parc des Princes the situation will be reversed.”
As it stands, PSG is condemned to win the return league at Parc des Princes on November 24 and their subsequent fixtures if they want to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round of the competition.
