FULL TIME A comfortable win for PSG, which moves to its first European final. Well deserved and thoroughly entertaining. Leipzig was good in parts but looked overawed by the occassion for the nmost part.
90' Two minutes added.
88' Wonderful through ball from Verratti to release Sarabia. His cross finds Neymar in the middle and he can't connect with the bouncing ball.
86' More changes for PSG. Choupo-Moting and Sarabia replace Mbappe and Di Maria.
83' First change for PSG. Verratti comes on for Paredes.
82' Leipzig denied by Silva. The center-back blocks a shot with his face! He seems ok to carry on. Kehrer them throws himself in front of the follow-up. Good defending.
79' Halstenberg booked for a foul on Neymar and Poulsen gets booked for contesting that call.
77' Mbappe and Neymar get on the counter attack. They are in a two-on-two situation. Mbappe's pass to Neymar is just behind him and the Brazilian falls over trying control it. With a three goal lead, he can afford to laugh it off.
72' Mbappe gets behind the Leipzig defence but he is denied by Gulasci's right arm. And seconds later the goalkeeper does well to hold a low shot from Paredes.
71' Di Maria's inswinging cross from the right wing is headed wide by Mbappe.
70' Di Maria get the ball on halfway line and finds Neymar, who pulls it backwards so that PSG can keep possession.
65' Sabitzer gets the ball on the edge of the box and shoots well over. Rico untroubled.
62' Third and fourth Leipzig substitutions. Halstenberg replaces Laimer and Adams replaces Kampl.
61' Laimer gets booked for a bad sliding tackle on Kimpembe. That's one way to get rid of some frustration!
56' GOAL! Bernat makes it 3-0. Leipzig undone by another defensive mistake. Mukiele slipps at the corner flag as he tris to run out with the ball. Di Maria gets it and crosses it to the near post, where Bernat is there divert it into the net.
52' Forsberg cuts in from the left and sends a shot over the bar.
51' Schick meets Forsberg's corner and glances his header wide off a deflection. The following corner is defended at the near post by Paredes.
48' Leipzig is finally showing some attacking intent! Lots of possession and passes to begin with. Now to build on it.
46' The German side made a double substutition at the start of the half. Schick and Foresberg replaced Nkunku and Olmo. That means it will be a switch the a three-man backline.
46' Leipzig, chasing a two-goal deficit, gets the second half underway.
HALFTIME It has been way too comfortable for PSG tonight. Leipzig isn't pressing like we know it can, wich has given PSG players time to settle down and pick their passes. Two goals up and could have been a lot more! It almost feels like a Ligue 1 game, that's how dominant the French side has been. Can Nagelsmann inspire his players to mount a comeback? We'll find out.
45' Two minutes added.
42'GOAL! Di Maria doubles PSG's lead. Gulasci, trying to pick out a teammate from 25 yards out, gifts possession to PSG. The ball falls to Neymar who flicks it to Di Maria at the penalty spot. The Argentine makes no mistake in slotting it past the keeper. Easy stuff for the French champion.
40' Leipzig players are not pressing will full intent as they know the pace PSG has to counter. Which means the ball stays with PSG and the French side is happy to rotate possession.
35' Kehrer is tripped by Nkunku and PSG has another freekick in a good position. Neymar spots that the keeper looking for the corss and he tries to shoot on target. It is curling but not enough - hits the outside of the post and bounces out.
If you remember the goal Fabio Aurelio scoed for Liverpool against Chelsea many years ago, this was very similar. Only, this didn't sneak in at the post.
30' PSG players aren't being pressed when they play the ball from behind and they like that. All the time in the world to get the ball and turn.
28' PSG slowly works the ball to Kehrer on the right, whose cross is goes beyond everyone in the box.
26' Olmo released Lalmer with a great ball over the top. He forces his way into the box from the right and then pulls it back for Poulsen.....who slashes it just wide! Inches away from an equaliser.
23' Leipzig gets a freekick in a dangerous position now after Kimpembe trips Olmo. Sabitzer takes it and fires into the wall, where Silva is there to head out for a corner.
Angeino takes the corner. Poulsen leaps at the back post but can’t get a clean connection.
19' Clash of heads between Silva and Sabitzer. The PSG captain is down, receiving treatment but looks like he will carry on.
17' Mbappe is slipped in behind by Herrera and the Frenchman tries to lift his finish over the onrushing keeper. Gulasci gets enough on it to divert the ball wide. Big save!
16' PSG has settled since scoring. Very comfortable at the moment and in control of the game. Naglesmann's side continue to sit in their defensive shape, but the Ligue 1 side are dictating the pace of the game.
13'GOAL! Neymar is fouled by Lalmer. PSG has a freekick on the left side of the Leipzig box. Di Maria curls in the ball, Marquinhos is free to run and glance a header into the bottom corner.
11' Di Maria with a fantastic corner from the left which is met by Marquinhos. His header takes a deflection on its way wide.
7' Gulacsi's kick is charged down by Neymar and the ball falls to Mbappe. Before it was put into the net the referee blew his whistle though. The Brazilian's arm struck the ball. Good call.
6' Neymar is freed by Mbappe. He runs into the box from the left, gets to the pass but pokes the ball past the advancing keeper and beyond the post! Bad bad miss. He missed a similar chance against Atalanta also. It didn't come back to haunt him then and he will be hoping for the same tonight.
4' Leipzig with its first attack of the night. Upemeanco with a nice cross wide to Olmo, whose finds Nkunku with a low pass. The former PSG forward turns on the edge of the area and shots, which deflects and falls safely for the keeper to collect.
2' Silva tries to pull off a long high ball from inside his half to Mbappe. The keeper is off his line to make a comfortable catch.
1' We are underway in Lisbon! PSG, in its home kit, get the game started.
— PRE-MATCH STATISTICS
- This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.
- Both RB Leipzig and PSG are aiming to reach their first-ever Champions League/European Cup final. Leipzig would be the seventh different German team to reach the final (second only to English sides), while PSG would be the first French team to reach the showpiece since Monaco in 2003-04.
- PSG has progressed from each of its three previous European knockout ties against German opposition, including in the ongoing season, when it eliminated Borussia Dortmund at the round-of-16 stage.
- Paris Saint-Germain has reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 1994-95 campaign, where it lost over two legs to AC Milan (0-3 on aggregate). Only one of the previous seven French teams to reach the UCL semis has reached the final.
- RB Leipzig is unbeaten in its last seven Champions League matches (W5, D2), after having lost four of its first eight in the competition (W3, D1). It has scored at least 2 goals in 6 of its last 7 UCL games.
- PSG forward Kylian Mbappe has been directly involved in 10 goals in 8 Champions League appearances this season (5 goals and assists each).
- Adams's winner against Atletico was his first goal for Leipzig since his January 2019 arrival from Red Bull New York. The young New Yorker also became the first American ever to score in a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal.
- PSG has found the back of the net in each of its last 33 Champions League games, only one behind the all-time record in major UEFA European competitions (held by Real Madrid: 34 games between 2011 and 2014). The last side to stop the Parisians from scoring was Manchester City back in April 2016 (0-1).
- RB Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer has been involved in six goals in his last six Champions League games (4 goals, 2 assists), assisting his side's opening goal in its quarterfinal win against Atletico Madrid.
- Since his debut in the competition in 2013-14, Neymar has provided more assists in the Champions League than any other player (23), including assisting its equaliser against Atalanta in the quarterfinals.
- Kylian Mbappe has been directly involved in 10 goals in eight Champions League appearances in 2019-20 (5 goals, 5 goals); his best goal involvement total in a single campaign in the competition. The Frenchman has been involved in a Champions League goal on average every 48 minutes this term.
— TEAM NEWS
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi; Mukiele, Upamecano, Klostermann; Lalmer, Sabitzer, Kampl, Angelino; Nkunku, Poulsen, Olmo
Substitutes: Mvogo, Tschauner, Orban, Haidara, Forsberg, Lookman, Adams, Schick, Hasltenberg, Ramos, Borkowski, Wosz
Paris Saint-Germain: Rico; Kehrer, Kimpembe, Silva, Bernat; Marquinhos, Paredes, Herrera; Neymar; Di Maria, Mbappe
Substitutes: Bulka, Innocent, Choupo-Moting, Icardi, Sarabia, Kurzawa, Diallo, Draxler, Gueye, Dagba
— Two of Germany's brightest coaches cross paths tonight, but not for the first time. Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel were both once youth team centre-backs for Augsburg.
When Julian Nagelsmann's playing career was ended by a series of injuries, Thomas Tuchel handed him the chance to move into coaching. Nagelsmann first job was to do some scouting and analysis of opponents. And he acknowledged the role Tuchel played in his during the pre-game presser.
"The decision was should I annul the contract or try to find something else, I got to the chance to scout to analyse the opposition. Thomas liked what I did actually and it was one of the first steps on the way path to becoming a head coach," he said. "I could never imagine it would lead to a Champions League semi-final and playing against Thomas Tuchel."
At 33 years old, Nagelsmann could become the youngest manager to reach the Champions League final, taking the record from Didier Deschamps, who was 35 with Monaco in 2004. Can he get the better of the person who kickstarted his coaching career?
Nagelsmann is definitely relishing the duel with Tuchel. Read more on the clash of the German coaches.
— RB Leipzig's 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid has whetted its appetite and now the Germans have set their sights on Paris St. Germain. “It's normal that when you get to the next round, you want more. Tonight we're happy. Tomorrow we will start looking at Paris,” Leipzig coach Nagelsmann told reporters following that game. Click here to read his full reaction after guiding Leipzig to the semifinals.
— There is little in modern football that can truly be described as a fairytale romance but RB Leipzig's journey from Germany's regional league system to the last four of the Champions League in just 11 years surely gets close. Click here to read about the German side's rise.
— FORM
RB Leipzig: WDDWWW in the Champions League and WDLWDW in all competitions.
Paris Saint-Germain: WDWLWW in the Champions League and WWWWWW in all competitions.
— TEAM NEWS: RB Leipzig
Leipzig left it late to secure a spot in the semifinal. Tyler Adams came off the bench to bag the winner against Atletico Madrid two minutes from time. The German side has shown that it can win without the services of Timo Werner. To counter his loss and to gain a foothold of the game, Julian Nagelsmann went with a midfield heavy side in the quarterfinal that did the job well. It would not come as a surprise if Nagelsmann selects the same XI tonight, with Dani Olmo again operating in the position just behind Yussuf Poulsen.
Christopher Nkunku will be facing his former team tonight, either from the start or from the bench.
Ibrahima Konate underwent hip surgery last month and is Leipzig's only confirmed absentee tonight. Timo Werner moved to Chelsea after the domestic season ended and is playing no part in the side's games in Portugal. New signings Hwang Hee-Chan and Benjamin Henrichs have joined RB Leipzig, but are ineligible to feature here.
— TEAM NEWS: Paris Saint-Germain
PSG also secured its spot in the semifinal in the final minutes against Atalanta. It is expected to be without midfielder Marco Verratti and goalkeeper Keylor Navas for tonight's clash.
Verratti missed the game against Atalanta with a calf problem and is still struggling. Navas had to be replaced in the latter stages of the quarterfinal after picking up a thigh injury, which means Sergio Rico is almost certain to feature between the sticks. Verratti and Navas will be assessed in the last minute before a final decision is made.
Thomas Tuchel was able to use Kylian Mbappe from the bench against Atalanta and the Frenchman is expected to start tonight.
Angel Di Maria missed the Atalanta game through suspension and, unlike Werner and Leipzig, the Argentine is still on PSG's books and is available for tonight's game. With him, Tuchel could move to a 4-2-2-2 system: the Argentine and Neymar playing behind Mbappe and Mauro Icardi.
Layvin Kurzawa remains sidelined with a thigh injury and has been ruled out of the game.
— Head-to-head preview ahead of the Champions League semifinal between PSG and RB Leipzig.
ALSO READ | Champions League: RB Leipzig v PSG - H2H Preview
— Paris Saint-Germain scored two late goals, including a stoppage-time winner from substitute Eric Choupo-Moting, to beat outsider Atalanta 2-1 and end the Serie A side's Champions League dream in its quarterfinal on Wednesday. Here are the full highlights of the game.
— This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain. Back in 2014, the clubs did cross paths in a friendly.
Jean-Christophe Bahebeck converted a well-worked team effort but could not stop Leipzig from winning 4-2 at the Red Bull Arena.
— The similarities between Paris Saint-Germain and Leipzig end in the fact both clubs are trying to make it to the Champions League final for the first time.
The French powerhouse arrives to Wednesday’s semifinal with its Qatari sponsors and high-profile squad, while the German club comes with its Red Bull backing and a team of mostly untested players.
At Benfica’s Stadium of Light, it will be Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and his teammates taking on a Leipzig squad with little Champions League experience.
Click here to read the full preview of tonight's big game.
— Paris Saint-Germain stands in RB Leipzig's way as it looks for to seal a place in the final. With Leipzig winning eight of its last 15 Champions League games and victorious in seven of its eight previous knockout European ties, the German side should not be taken lightly.
In the Bundesliga, it lost only four of its 34 games during last season, claiming third behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
PSG is in the semifinals of the European Cup for just the second time in its history. The French champion's recent struggles to make it past the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League are well documented.
At home in domestic competition, PSG is the most dominant side. On the European stage, it is still waiting to establish itself in a manner that reflects the investment its owners have made over the years.
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