Liverpool players celebrate victory against RB Leipzig in UEFA Champions League match

Liverpool Cruises To Vital Win Against Leipzig

Last updated Feb 17, 2021

Liverpool cruised to a vital 2-0 win against a resilient RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash after strikes from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in Budapest.

The first leg was moved from Leipzig to the Hungarian capital due to Germany’s strict Covid-19 travel restrictions. Despite the enforced relocation, Julian Nagelsmann’s side started brightly and almost went ahead on four minutes.

Left-back Angelino teed up fellow Spaniard Dani Olmo for a close-range diving header past goalkeeper Alisson, but the effort only rattled the post.

Both sides created chances in the first half through Dani Olmo, Angelino, Salah, Mane, Firmino and Andy Robertson. However, the scored remained 0-0 at halftime.

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones (C) marked by RB Leipzig defenders during UEFA Champions League match

The German side started the second half stronger, however, they were made to pay for two calamitous mistakes early in the second half.

In the 53rd minute, Salah pounced on a sloppy back-pass by Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and ran unchallenged to smoothly slot past goalkeeper Gulacsi.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah scores goal against RB Leipzig in Champions League match

Five minutes later, the visitors doubled it’s lead in similar fashion as another dreadful defensive error proved costly to the hosts, leaving the German side facing a formidable task in the return leg on March 10.

Nordi Mukiele misjudged a long ball forward which allowed Mane to race through on goal. The Liverpool forward calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 with a neat finish.

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane scores against RB Leipzig

Liverpool cruised to victory, keeping alive their hopes of silverware via Champions League glory this season despite their domestic troubles. The win also ends a run of three straight defeats that has left the English champions 13 points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League.

“It was a game we wanted, it was a game we needed tonight,” Klopp said in an interview after the match. “Leipzig can be a real monster.”

“The way they play in the Bundesliga they overrun teams, they can be really physical in everything and tonight we controlled them in an exceptional way.”

“They had their moments because of the quality they have but we controlled the game so tonight I think we got the result we deserved,” he added..

What a performance. What a win.