Key events
13 min Haidara plays a quick pass through to Openda, who tries to go past Konate in the area and gets no change. The assistant gives a corner, a decision with which Konate is less than thrilled.
13 min Mac Allister is booked for diving. Looked like a foul to me, but I haven’t got the whistle.
12 min There have been two early goals in the match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Will Unwin will give you chapter and verse.
10 min Leipzig are full of intent on the counter attack, charging forward as soon as they win the ball.
Nunez runs the channel to win Liverpool’s first corner. Tsinikas takes it and Orban heads away well under pressure.
8 min Castello Lukeba is booked for standing on Szoboszlai’s foot.
7 min Simons cuts inside from the left and curls a nice cross towards Sesko, who flicks a header straight at Kelleher. It was a tough chance because he had to generate power while also trying to place it in the corner.
4 min Liverpool have taken the centre of the ring early on, moving the ball around with a relaxed confidence. Nunez finds Gakpo on the left; he beats his man but overhits a cross towards the unmarked Salah at the far post.
2 min Simons curls over from the edge of the area after a promising Leipzig break, sparked by a loose touch from Tsimikas near the halfway line. It looks like Leipzig have started with a back four by the way; Henrichs is at left-back.
Leipzig (4-3-2-1) Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba, Henrichs; Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Sesko, Simons; Openda.
1 min And they’re off. Liverpool are kicking from left to right as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Leipzig (possible 3-4-2-1) Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba; Henrichs, Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Simons, Sesko; Openda.
Substitutes: Vandevoordt, Bitshiabu, Elmas, Poulsen, Baumgartner, Andre Silva, Kampl, Gebel.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Jaros, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Jones, Robertson, Quansah, Morton, Nyoni, Davies.
Referee Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)
Leipzig are second in the Bundesliga, behind Bayern on goal difference. Like Liverpool they’ve been superb in defence, concedingly only twice in seven games. But it hasn’t worked out quite so well in the Champions League: they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid and 3-2 to Juventus, having been ahead in both games. Another defeat tonight and they’ll be needing snookers.
“So, Rob, what’s your verdict so far on the Swiss Model?” asks Simon McMahon. “Loath as I am to give UEFA credit for anything, if nothing else it’s mixed things up a bit, and given teams like, say, Aston Villa, Brest and Slovan Bratislava top billing, at least for a while.
“No doubt the last 16 will look pretty familiar, and Real Madrid will beat Man City in the final anyway, but it feels like the chances of an outsider, or maybe even two, making the latter stages have increased. And the more games UEFA can fit into the calendar the better, right? Surely only a matter of time before the final is played on 4th July in New York at 8pm (Eastern time).”
I’ve enjoyed it and particularly Villa, though I think that’s more because of their newness than the format. My main gripe is the extra games; it’ll never happen but a way to make the league stage really interesting would be to have 12 teams qualifying rather than 24. The top four go straight to the quarters, the next eight playoff to join them. That would mean fewer games and loads more jeopardy, which is frankly how I prefer to roll.
Champions League results
The two early games were both drawn. That’s a fine result for Celtic, especially after their humiliation in Dortmund last time out.
-
Atalanta 0-0 Celtic
-
Brest 1-1 Leverkusen
And this is the updates Champions League table. Liverpool and Benfica, who play Feyenoord, can both go top tonight.
Ibrahima Konate is the only player on either side who’s on a yellow card. If he’s booked tonight he’ll miss Leverkusen at home in a fortnight.
Pre-match bits and bobs
Team news: Nunez and Gakpo start
Arne Slot makes three changes from Sunday’s win over Chelsea. Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones are rested, with Kostas Tsimikas and Alexis Mac Allister coming into the side. Darwin Nunez replaces the injured Diogo Jota up front and Cody Gakpo is again preferred to Luis Diaz.
Plenty of familiar names in the Leipzig team, including Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons, but they are without the Germany international Lukas Klostermann in defence.
Leipzig (possible 3-4-2-1) Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba; Henrichs, Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Simons, Sesko; Openda.
Substitutes: Vandevoordt, Bitshiabu, Elmas, Poulsen, Baumgartner, Andre Silva, Kampl, Gebel.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Jaros, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Jones, Robertson, Quansah, Morton, Nyoni, Davies.
Referee Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)
There are loads of other Champions League games tonight, including Barcelona v Bayern Munich. Will Unwin has drawn the Clockwatch straw.
Preamble
Hello, good evening and welcome to live coverage of Leipzig v Liverpool at the Red Bull Arena. You win nothing in October, unless it’s 1988 and the Mercantile Credit Cententary Trophy is up for grabs, but there’s never a bad time to be top of the league. If Liverpool win tonight, and other results that would not stretch credulity go their way, they will be top in both England and Europe.
For now it still feels strange to talk about teams being top of the Champions League. That’ll soon pass – group stages were weird once – and the new competition is starting to take shape. The league stage is essentially a giant game of snakes and ladders and Liverpool would love to get to nine points ahead of the toughest bit of their fixture list: Leverkusen and Real Madrid at Anfield.
Kick off 8pm.
