Leipzig left with work to do after Porto defeat dents Champions League progress hopes
RB Leipzig are still waiting for their first away win in the Champions League after they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Porto, relinquishing second place in Group G to the Portuguese side on Wednesday night.
Porto 3-1 Leipzig
Goals: 1-0 Herrera (13'), 1-1 Werner (48'), 2-1 Danilo (61'), 3-1 Pereira (90+3')
It was almost like a game of chess in the early, tentative exchanges, and it was a mistake by Kevin Kampl, who abandoned the man he was marking at the far post, which helped the hosts take a 13th-minute lead, with Peter Gulacsi unable to keep out Herrera's low shot. Leipzig enjoyed plenty of the ball, but aside from a speculative Emil Forsberg free-kick, they never tested Jose Sa's goal, save for a Forsberg goal which was ruled out for offside.
Timo Werner was brought in at the start of the second half, and he needed less than 150 seconds to make an impact, coolly curling his shot into the far corner after latching onto Marcel Sabitzer's perfectly weighted pass. Danilo's header nearly restored Porto's lead only seconds before he was given another free header in the six-yard box, and this time he made sure to put Porto back in front after an hour, before Pereira ended Leipzig's hopes in stoppage time and took them back above Leipzig with two group games remaining.
Line-ups
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi - Bernardo, Orban (c), Upamecano, Halstenberg (46' Klostermann) – Kampl, Keita – Forsberg, Sabitzer, Bruma (46' Werner) - Augustin (75' Poulsen)
Subs: Mvogo, Konate, Laimer, Demme
Coach: Ralph Hasenhüttl
Absentees: Ilsanker (toe)
Porto: Jose Sa – Ricardo, Marcano, Felipe, Alex Telles - Danilo, Herrera (c) - Brahimi (89' Reyes), Corona (72' Pereira) - Marega (13' Andre Andre), Aboubakar
Subs: Casillas, Hernani, Torres, Oliveira
Coach: Sergio Conceicao
Absentees: none
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Match stats
- Hasenhüttl's side are making their European debut this season: the win against Porto was their first ever in continental competition.The Easterners have become the 12th club to represent the Bundesliga in the Champions League.Leipzig's first-ever European away game, on Matchday 2 against Besiktas, ended in a 2-0 defeat. Porto have won eight and drawn two of 12 league games this season and sit two points clear of Sporting Lisbon at the top of the standings.Porto won the 2004 Champions League at Schalke's Veltins Arena.
As it happened