Christopher Nkunku and Emil Forsberg scored braces as RB Leipzig kept alive their hopes of playing UEFA Europa League football next year with a crushing 5-0 win away to Club Brugge.

Club Brugge 0-5 RB Leipzig

Goals: 0-1 Nkunku 9' (assist: Silva), 0-2 Forsberg (pen. 17'), 0-3 Silva 26' (assist: Angelino), 0-4 Forsberg (45+1'), 0-5 Nkunku 90+3' (assist: Novoa)

Out of the running for a top-two finish in UEFA Champions League Group A, Leipzig travelled to Belgium needing a win to have any chance of prolonging their European campaign via qualification to the Europa League. Despite a whole host of absentees, including head coach Jesse Marsch, Die Roten Bullen took a huge step to realising that objective thanks to a blistering first-half display. Nkunku set the tone inside 14 minutes, reacting quickest to turn in on the rebound after Andre Silva's initial effort had been saved. Forsberg doubled up from the penalty spot, before Silva got in on the act with a thumping header. Forsberg drove in a fourth on the stroke of half-time to give Leipzig an unassailable lead.

Konrad Laimer signalled more of the same with a warning shot at Simon Mignolet early in the second half. Silva then sent Nkunku scampering in on goal, but the angle didn’t do him any favours and his eventual strike was parried to safety. Brugge mustered a couple of speculative attempts through substitute Mats Rits and Noa Lang, but Josep Martinez was rarely threatened on only his second competitive start between the Leipzig goal-posts. Mignolet, by contrast, pulled off two big saves to deny Silva his brace, before Nkunku put the cherry on the cake in added time. Leipzig will qualify for the Europa League last 32 if they equal Brugge's result against Paris Saint-Germain, when they host Manchester City on Matchday 6.

Match stats

• Nkunku has scored 13 and assisted seven in 19 competitive appearances so far this season. He's had a hand in eight of Leipzig's 13 goals in the 2021/22 Champions League.
• Forsberg is Leipzig's nine-goal record Champions League scorer.
• Brian Brobbey made his first Leipzig start, following seven substitute appearances.
• Leipzig kept their first Champions League clean sheet of the season.
• This is Leipzig's fourth Champions League campaign. They did not make it out of the groups on debut in the 2017/18 edition, but went on to reach that season's Europa League quarter-finals.
• Brugge have only won one of their last 16 Champions League home matches.

Line-ups

Brugge: Mignolet - Van der Brempt (Mechele 60'), Hendry, Nsoki (Ricca 46'), Mata - Balanta, Vanaken (c) - De Ketelaere (Wesley 82') - Lang, Dost (Rits 46'), Sowah (Izquierdo 82')
Unused subs: Lammens, Maouassa, Vormer, Mbamba-Muanda
Out: Sobol (unconfirmed)
Coach: Philippe Clement 

Leipzig: Martinez - Mukiele, Klostermann (Henrichs 62'), Gvardiol (Bonnah 80'), Angelino - Nkunku, Laimer (Moriba 62'), Kampl (c), Forsberg - Silva, Brobbey (Novoa 66')
Unused subs: Eutinger, Wosz
Out: Adams (suspended), Gulacsi (not included), Haidara (ankle), Halstenberg (ankle), Olmo (hamstring), Orban (unwell), Poulsen (calf), Saracchi (knee), Simakan (cold), Szoboszlai (ankle)
Coach: Jesse Marsch

As it happened!

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