Marcus Rashford hat-trick sees RB Leipzig beaten by Manchester United
RB Leipzig were beaten 5-0 at Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League group stage after a hat-trick from Marcus Rashford.
As it happened
MANCHESTER UNITED 5-0 RB LEIPZIG
Goals: 1-0 Greenwood (21'), 2-0 Rashford (76'), 3-0 Rashford (78'), 4-0 Martial (pen, 87'), 5-0 Rashford (90'+2)
FULL-TIME
It all got a bit messy for Leipzig in the end, with 5-0 nowhere near reflecting how the game played out. It sees RB drop to third in the group, level on points with PSG ahead of their meeting at the Red Bull Arena next Wednesday.
90'+2 RASHFORD HAT-TRICK
Martial squares it to Rashford, who takes a touch and fires past Gulacsi.
90' ADDED TIME
Four additional minutes.
88' RULED OUT
Cavani has the ball in the back of the net for a potential fifth but is offside.
87' MARTIAL CONVERTS
Gulacsi gets a hand to it down to his right but there's too much power on it from Martial. This is Leipzig's heaviest defeat in the Champions League as it stands.
86' UNITED PENALTY
Fred plays Martial through the middle and he's taken down by Sabitzer in the box.
82' UNITED DOUBLE CHANGE
The hosts make their final substitutions with Edinson Cavani and Axel Tuanzebe on for Paul Pogba and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
81' CLOSE FROM THE BIG MAN
Sörloth gets up well at a corner but his header goes just over the bar.
78' RASHFORD AGAIN
Fred pinches the ball off Sabitzer midway in the Leipzig half and Rashford is away again, blasting beyond Gulacsi for a quickfire brace.
76' RASHFORD SCORES
United double their lead as Fernandes sets Rashford away from the halfway line. The linesman's flag goes up but the England international runs clear to slot home past Gulacsi. A VAR check confirms that he started his run inside his own half and the goal is given. It's the first time Leipzig have conceded two goals in all competitions this season.
74' CHANGE IN PLAY
United have burst back into life since the arrival of Bruno Fernandes a few minutes ago and Leipzig are currently soaking up the pressure.
70' BRAVE GULACSI
Bruno's first involvement is to lift a free-kick over the Leipzig defence looking for the run of Martial, but Gulacsi comes out to cover the angle before the Frenchman can get a touch.
68' NEXT CHANGE
Bruno Fernandes comes on for Donny Van de Beek.
66' SÖRLOTH ON
Alexander Sörloth is now also on for his Champions League debut in place of Christopher Nkunku. Nagelsmann's now playing two centre-forwards.
65' KONATE!
Poulsen does what he does well and wins a header off a long ball. He ends up knocking it up to Konate coming in behind and he powers a header from close range that forces De Gea into a smart save.
65' LEIPZIG CONTROLLING
RB have seen 55% of the possession and won 67% of their challenges in this half, but it's United who have had all four attempts on goal.
63' TIME FOR CHANGES
United make two of their permitted five, with Rashford and McTominay on for Greenwood and Matic. Sabitzer replaces Henrichs for Leipzig.
62' HALSTENBERG DOWN
The Leipzig defender is down holding his foot inside his own box after a coming together with Van de Beek.
60' HOUR GONE
We're 60 minutes into the action in Manchester and both sides look set to begin making substitutions. Sabitzer is donning his headband as he prepares to join the fray.
57' LEIPZIG FRONT FOOT
RB are enjoying a good spell of pressure and possession in the United half, but they're still yet to turn that into clear chances.
51' UNITED PENALTY CLAIM
Upamecano dispossesses Wan-Bissaka and sets off on a marauding run through the middle. His pass is misplaced, though, and he's out of position as United break. It's played up to Martial in the box, whose square ball is intercepted by Konate and Angelino, with the ball striking the arm of the sliding Konate, but all penalty claims are waived away as United have their follow-up efforts blocked.
46' HENRICHS BOOKED
The Leipzig wing-backs pulls back Pogba's shirt and is shown his side's first yellow.
46' KICK-OFF
We're back underway at Old Trafford. No changes for either side, but Marcel Sabitzer has been warming up for Leipzig.
HALF-TIME
The referee brings the first half to a close and Julian Nagelsmann heads down the Old Trafford touchline. He needs to find a way for his side to break down the United defence. So far Leipzig have been playing mostly in front of the back line.
Leipzig have come back to claim points in the last two Champions League games where they've trailed at half-time (2-1 after being 1-0 down against Zenit and 2-2 trailing 1-0 against Benfica in last season's group stage). United, however, have won their last eight Champions League matches with a half-time lead and have actually never lost in 54 occasions at home (W48, D6).
45' MISUNDERSTANDING
A training-ground corner routine from Die Roten Bullen as it's pinged back to Angelino outside the box. He then chips it back into the box but it's over all the white shirts gathering at the far post.
44' ANGELINO ON THE RUN
Leipzig have men forward as the ball comes out to Angelino on the left. He runs at pace into the box but Wan-Bissaka times his challenge well to pinch the ball.
37' COMEBACK KIDS
Remember that Leipzig came from 1-0 down to beat Hertha 2-1 at the weekend. This game is far from over.
34' MATIC BOOKED
A yellow card for United's midfielder after an arm into the face of Forsberg.
32' NKUNKU TO UPAMECANO
Christopher Nkunku has created a club-best 19 chances in the Champions League for Leipzig since the start of last season and swings in a free-kick from the right here. Upamecano is the target at the far post, who gets above Wan-Bissaka but is penalised for a foul.
26' LEIPZIG CHARGING
The goal looks to have woken Leipzig up somewhat. They're currently camped inside the United half and pinging the ball around at pace looking for gaps.
24' NKUNKU STRIKES
Leipzig seek an immediate response as the ball comes to Nkunku to the right of the box. His shot is firm and forces De Gea into a reaction save above his head.
21' GREENWOOD SCORES
Pogba bursts forward from midfield before playing in Greenwood, who finishes with his left foot across Gulacsi. There's a check for offside against the scorer. It's tight but VAR confirms the goal.
15' PATIENT PLAY
Most of the action is taking place in the middle third so far. Fred's earlier shot the only attempt on goal to date.
8' NAGELSMANN LOUD
It's a shame for Leipzig that their first visit here is in front of an empty stadium. It does, though, mean Julian Nagelsmann's shouting from the touchline can be heard very clearly. He's almost as loud as the suit he's wearing.
6' SAVE GULACSI!
Peter Gulacsi is the first goalkeeper called into action, though, as Fred's effort takes a slight deflection and forces Leipzig's skipper on the night into a smart save at his left-hand post.
4' LEIPZIG PRESSING
The Bundesliga side are going about their usual business and pressing United high up the pitch whenever possible. They'll have no fear of English opposition, having won both of their previous Champions League games against Premier League clubs, beating Tottenham 1-0 and 3-0 last season.
1' KICK-OFF!
The top two in Group H get underway in Manchester. PSG have just won 2-0 in Istanbul against Basaksehir, who lost by the same score in Leipzig last week. The winners tonight will take control of this section.
HERE COME THE TEAMS
Last season's Europa League semi-finalists are about to take on last season's Champions League semi-finalists at Old Trafford. And yes, those are written the right way around.
EYES ON DAYOT
Among Leipzig’s array of young stars, Dayot Upamecano is one of the standout names at the back. He’s won more tackles than any other Bundesliga defender (81) this season, and has also ensured clean sheets in his side’s opening DFB Cup and Champions League fixtures - while his 91 per cent pass completion through 2019/20 attests to his ball-playing abilities. He’ll be key to keeping United’s dangerous front two of Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood in check, but will know how to handle the former after earning his first three senior France caps alongside the striker.
ANGEL VS. DEVILS
This is a homecoming of sorts for Angelino. The Leipzig wing-back is on loan from Manchester City, where he made just 15 senior appearances, including a 2-1 derby loss to United. The angel has truly risen in the Bundesliga, though, with the Spaniard having a hand in 10 goals in 25 games for Leipzig. Four of those have been scored this season alone, making him the top-scoring defender in Europe’s top five leagues. Angelino will be looking forward to taking on the Red Devils tonight.
BABY MOURINHO VS. BABY FACE
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earned the nickname ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ during his playing days with the club. Tonight is the 47-year-old’s 99th game in charge but he’s up against Europe’s hottest young coach, Julian Nagelsmann, for the first time. Under the so-called ‘Baby Mourinho’ Leipzig have lost just seven times in 54 matches and are the only team on the continent who have stopped Bayern from scoring in 2020.
A Bavarian native, Nagelsmann joked before the game that he wants to slide tackle Solskjaer today after the Norwegian scored his injury-time winner over Bayern in the 1999 Champions League final. Only 11 at the time, the Leipzig boss said in his press conference yesterday: “I wasn't the happiest person. My dad was a Gladbach fan at the time and he teased me a bit.”
HISTORIC NIGHT
This is the first time Leipzig and Manchester United have met in European competition. The English side may have the heritage with their 20 league titles and three European Cups, but RB are very much the form team and even top the Bundesliga table ahead of treble winners Bayern Munich. Nagelsmann’s side have won six of their seven matches (one draw) across the league, DFB Cup and Europe so far this season. The Red Devils have won only five out of eight and sit 15th in the English Premier League right now.
KONATE RETURNS
Julian Nagelsmann makes four changes from his team that came from behind to beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 at the weekend. The big news is that Ibrahima Konate makes his first start of the campaign after struggling with a long-standing hip problem. Marcel Halstenberg, Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen also return. Nordi Mukiele, Willi Orban, Justin Kluivert and Alexander Sörloth make way.
As for United, it’s five changes from their goalless draw at home to Chelsea in the league. The defence remains the same, but Donny Van de Beek, Mason Greenwood, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Anthony Martial all come in. Scott McTominay, Juan Mata, Bruno Fernandes, Daniel James and Marcus Rashford drop to the bench.
Line-ups
Man Utd: De Gea – Wan-Bissaka (Tuanzebe 81'), Lindelof, Maguire (c), Shaw – Matic (McTominay 63') – Fred, Pogba (Cavani 81') – Van de Beek (Fernandes 68') - Greenwood (Rashford 63'), Martial
Unused subs: Henderson, Fosu-Mensah, Mengi, Williams, James, Mata, Ighalo
Out: Bailly (muscular), Jones (knee), Lingard (knock)
Coach: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Leipzig: Gulacsi (c) - Konate, Upamecano, Halstenberg – Henrichs (Sabitzer 63'), Nkunku (Sörloth 65'), Kampl (Kluivert 76'), Angelino - Olmo, Forsberg – Poulsen
Unused subs: Tschauner, Martinez, Orban, Hwang, Adams, Samardzic, Borkowski, Martel, Wosz
Out: Klostermann (knee), Laimer (knee), Mukiele (thigh)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
Watch: Highlights of Leipzig's Upamecano-inspired victory over Hertha
Match stats
- Upamecano had a 70 percent success rate for duels in last season's Champions League - no Frenchman enjoyed more.
- Angelino - alongside Bayern's Kingsley Coman - is the top scorer in the competition at this early point with two goals to his name.
- The Spanish left sider has scored four goals in six games in all competitions since re-signing for Leipzig on loan from Manchester City.
- Leipzig are in just their third Champions League season. They beat Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid on the way to last season's semi-finals.
- At 33, Julian Nagelsmann is the youngest coach in this year's competition. Manchester United's recent signing Edinson Cavani is five months older than him.
- Fernandes might be the player Leipzig should keep the closest eye on. The Portuguese midfielder has scored four and assisted three in all competitions.
Latest
Upamecano made his debut for France last month - before scoring on his second appearance - and has added to his growing reputation with an impressive start to the campaign at club level too. Outstanding in last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid in August, he is key to a Leipzig defence that has conceded just three goals in seven competitive fixtures this season. The 21-year-old also netted a brilliant individual goal in the weekend win over Hertha Berlin, leading to comparisons with Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk. It's been a month of spectacular strikes from Leipzig players, with Yussuf Poulsen thrashing home a breathtaking volley against Augsburg before Angelino got both goals - the first thanks to some outrageous skill - in the Champions League Matchday 1 success against Istanbul Basaksehir. All three players start again at Old Trafford, but captain Marcel Sabitzer remains on the bench again after sitting out the European opener before scoring the winner against Hertha from the penalty spot.
England attacker Rashford, meanwhile, got a dramatic late goal to open the group stage as United stunned Paris Saint-Germain - the team that Bayern Munich beat to become European champions last season. Bruno Fernandes was also on target with a penalty in that 2-1 victory in Paris, but both players were frustrated as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were held to a scoreless draw at home to Chelsea on Saturday and start on the bench tonight. England defender Harry Maguire returned in that match, however, and he will have the unenviable task of trying to help keep Leipzig's potent attack quiet. The Bundesliga league leaders, after all, won 1-0 on their last visit to England in February - part of a resounding 4-0 aggregate victory over Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s round of 16.
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