Leipzig, solid and realistic, beat Atlético de Madrid (2-1) in his own game, Thursday in Lisbon, to join Paris SG in the semi-final of the Champions League. One phenomenon is hidden in another. After Atalanta Bergamo, the Italian surprise that attacks all-out, PSG is preparing to meet another UFO in European football, on the road to its hoped-for coronation.
RB Leipzig, a club founded in 2009 which is only playing C1 for the second time, is growing at the frantic pace of its talented youth, led by promising coach Julian Nagelsmann (33). Despite the departure of their top scorer Timo Werner, who left for Chelsea this summer, the German club showed the extent of their reservoir: Spaniard Dani Olmo, 22, and American Tyler Adams, 21, scored ( 50th, 88th) to fuel the hope of a crazy epic in Portugal.
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There is a bit of Ajax Amsterdam, who amazed Europe last season by eliminating Real Madrid and Juventus, in this team without complex which did not hesitate to challenge Diego Simeone on his home ground, that of defensive strength and physical intensity. “It's an absolutely deserved victory, we were the best team. We defended with incredible passion ”, relished Nagelsmann who also mentioned the future Parisian opponent. “We are going to face PSG and its stars, it will not be easy. We will have to defend well as we did today, like Upamecano. When you find yourself in a position to defend against players like Neymar or Mbappé, you have to anticipate. But we will also have opportunities. My reunion with Thomas Tuchel (who was his trainer in Augsburg in 2007-2008)? I look forward. When we met in the Bundesliga, I was very excited. He's a great trainer, a great guy but I hope that in the end, I'll win (laughs), ”explained the technician at the microphone of RMC Sport.
The Germans also enjoyed a bit of success, with this favorable counter on Adams' strike that left goalkeeper Jan Oblak without a solution. This opportunity will inevitably leave regrets to the Spaniards, who were pushing at that time to take the advantage. Lisbon, place of the cruel defeat in the final of the C1 2014 against Real, will continue to haunt the “Colchoneros” who, this time, were however guided by a local: the Portuguese Joao Felix, recruited from Benfica against 126 M EUR in July last, equalized on a penalty (71st) that he himself caused.
Solid Upamecano
The entry of the attacking midfielder (58th) coincided with the resumption of form of the Madrilenians who, until then, had not arrived against the German block. Unbeaten since the resumption of competition in June, they were surprised by more meticulous than them. Between two systems cut out for the game against, keeping the ball was tantamount to a trap: no team taking risks, the meeting got bogged down in a tactical cold war.
Atlético have well honored their reputation as rock, in particular thanks to the domination in the air of defenders Stefan Savic and José Maria Giménez. But opposite, the French Dayot Upamecano stood out in the duels, as well as the goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi on his line (13th), proving that Leipzig was not the second best defense in the Bundesliga by chance. “They surrounded the meeting very well, it was very difficult to prevent them from playing, from reading their movements, from being on their passing trajectories. They played a very good game, they were superior, ”admitted Saul Niguez, midfielder of Atlético.
In the bizarre atmosphere of the José-Alvalade stadium, behind closed doors, rocked by the hum of the neighboring motorway, the difference would be made on the rare errors. On the recovery of a center from Marcel Sabitzer, Olmo paid head for an oversight of the Spanish defense, which left him unmarked. It was again Sabitzer, with a subtle deflection, which caused a shift at the origin of the second goal. Adams, alone at 25 meters, took the opportunity to adjust a shot that Savic, powerless, diverted in his nets. At the final whistle, the German substitutes ran towards the holders in a great scene of joy, which Leipzig discovers at this level. A breeze of freshness is blowing over Lisbon.
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