Soccer (Football)
After a difficult start, RB Leipzig surged into the knockout stages of the Champions League with four straight wins. The Red Bull Arena is bouncing and we can’t wait for what’s next.
RB Leipzig will welcome Manchester City to the Red Bull Arena in the last 16 of the Champions League knowing special things can happen at their home stadium. Since making their debut in Europe’s top club competition five years ago, RB Leipzig have toppled multiple giants under the lights, the latest victory coming in a five-goal thriller against Real Madrid.
Since the arrival of Marco Rose as coach, the team are back playing their trademark style of fast and fearless football, pressing aggressively and attacking at such a speed you can’t take your eyes off the action for a second.
And ahead of facing Pep Guardiola’s men on February 22, 2023, we look back on eight memorable Champions League nights at the Red Bull Arena. History tells us when RB Leipzig are in full flow, anything can happen…
01
RB Leipzig 1-1 AS Monaco, September 13, 2017
Just eight short years after forming in 2009, RB Leipzig had risen spectacularly through the football pyramid to occupy a seat at the top table of European competition. More than 40,000 fans created a party atmosphere at the Red Bull Arena ahead of their debut match against AS Monaco. Emil Forsberg raised the roof in the 33rd minute with a narrow-angled finish inside the penalty area to put the hosts ahead but the lead lasted only 45 seconds and a memorable night ended with a share of the points.
02
RB Leipzig 3-2 Porto, October 17, 2017
RB Leipzig didn’t have to wait long for their first Champions League home victory though and in true exhilarating style it came after a relentless 45 minutes of action. All five goals were scored in the first half with Willi Orbán, Forsberg and Jean-Kévin Augustin scoring for the home side. Th then-manager Ralph Hasenhüttl called it “an historic win” and summed up by saying that his team’s fast-paced performance was “all the things that make us Leipzig”.
03
RB Leipzig 2-2 Benfica, November 27, 2019
If ever there was a lesson on why to never leave a game early, this was it. While a last-gasp draw may not appear all that remarkable, the significance was gigantic. Needing a draw to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time ever, Leipzig were trailing by two goals as the final whistle approached. Up stepped that man again – Emil Forsberg. The Swede calmly converted a penalty in the 90th minute before heading in a Timo Werner cross in the 95th to send the Red Bull Arena into pandemonium and coach Julian Nagelsmann sprinting down the touchline.
04
RB Leipzig 3-0 Tottenham, March 10, 2020
RB Leipzig carried their momentum from the group stages into the knockout phase. Sitting on a narrow 1-0 advantage from the first leg it was all to play for at the Red Bull Arena against Jose Mourinho’s side. Surrounded by deafening noise, Leipzig attacked at relentless speed and ran riot from the first whistle. Two goals from captain Marcel Sabitzer and one from Forsberg sealed a dominant win in one of their most impressive Champions League performances to date. They would go on to beat Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals before succumbing to Paris Saint-Germain in the semis.
05
RB Leipzig 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain, November 4, 2020
After losing to the French champions in the semi-finals the previous season, the two sides would meet again less than three months later. It appeared PSG would continue to have the upper hand after scoring in the sixth minute and then being awarded a penalty ten minutes later – but after Di Maria missed from the spot the game changed. Christopher Nkunku scored his first goal in the competition before Forsberg completed the comeback with a penalty of his own to claim a crucial victory.
06
RB Leipzig 3-2 Manchester Utd, December 8, 2020
The Red Bull Arena was turning into a formidable venue for opposition teams and yet another former champion was dispatched in entertaining fashion here, this time in the form of global giants Manchester United. Angeliño was the star of the show, scoring a sweetly struck opener before providing crosses for Amadou Haidara and Justin Kluivert to send Leipzig into a 3-0 lead which their English opponents failed to overturn.
07
RB Leipzig 2-1 Manchester City, December 7, 2021
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City don’t lose many matches and they weren’t expected to lose this one after winning a madcap reverse fixture 6-3. Despite struggling with inconsistent Bundesliga form, Leipzig showed once again how they can raise their level in front of their own supporters. Dominik Szoboszlai put them ahead before Andre Silva stunned the English champions by doubling the advantage. The three points helped them qualify for the Europa League where they went on a run to the semi-finals.
08
RB Leipzig 3-2 Real Madrid, October 25, 2022
The reigning European champions came to the Red Bull Arena full of confidence having not lost a match all season. Leipzig were flying themselves fresh off the back of consecutive wins over Celtic and knew that three points would put them on the verge of the knockout stages for the third time in four years. Joško Gvardiol and Nkunku sent the home fans into raptures in the first half before the 14-time winners pulled one back. Substitute Werner finished the job though late on to cap an historic night that will live long in the memory for the crowd of more than 45,000.