Relief at RB Leipzig, relief for Marco Rose: The Saxons have secured their first win in the reformed Champions League at the seventh attempt and given their criticized coach some peace of mind. The already eliminated Leipzig side won 2:1 (1:0) against Sporting Lisbon in a match with no sporting significance and picked up their first points - certainly good for their confidence ahead of the Bundesliga clash against Leverkusen on Saturday.
At least the stadium was a little fuller, but the demand for the meaningless game was limited. At the invitation of RB, emergency personnel from the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg were in the stadium free of charge. A good 400 people had accepted the offer.
Raum: First jubilation, then disappointment
They saw Leipzig's first good combination down the right-hand side after eight minutes, but Loïs Openda's finish was too harmless. Things went better eleven minutes later. Christoph Baumgartner's pass after winning the ball was intercepted, but the ball landed at the feet of Xavi Simons. The Dutchman found David Raum on the left and, after his equally flat and sharp pass, Sesko only had to keep his foot in the center.
Both teams initially remained at roughly the same level, and Maximiliano Araujo (29) had the equalizer on his feet in a respectable game. However, Baumgartner intervened at the highest level. Shortly afterwards, Raum was celebrating wildly, but the international's goal (32) was taken back after video evidence. Openda was offside. Shortly before the break, Raum (43) was on hand at the back to block a shot from Ivan Fresneda, who was free in the penalty area.
