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Leipzig Given New Life in Champions League Following Dramatic Win


Alexander Sorloth picked a fantastic time to score his first goal for RB Leipzig as it helped bring the team to a three-way tie with Paris St. Germain and Manchester United at the top of their Champions League group. The win puts the power back into the East German club's hands as a win against Manchester United could see them finish atop the group.

"It was a crazy result in the end," said manager Julian Nagelsmann. "Our first half performance was great. We defended well and had two huge chances in the opening minutes. We created more big chances and should have been comfortably ahead at half time."

Unfortunately Leipzig was not comfortable at half time. Despite carrying a two-goal lead into stoppage time, a late effort from Irfan Kahveci left room for doubt. Leipzig responded well at the start of the second half and even took back the two-goal advantage with an strike from Dani Olmo in the 66th minute. 

From there the balance of power shifted again with Kahveci scoring in the 72nd and 85th minutes to equalize the contest. Leipzig was saved by a late goal from Sorloth to grab all three points.

"I am incredibly pleased and relieved," said Sorloth about his goal. "Especially that I was able to help the team with the winning goal. I'm very happy that we picked up the three points. Istanbul are a really good team. They never gave up and always found a way back into the game."

Istanbul Basaksehir will drop out of the competition all together with only three points but left an indelible mark on the competition. They pushed Leipzig to the brink and garnered a win over Manchester United. Leipzig can take this as a warning that all teams in the competition are decent enough for an upset on any given day.

"Our aim was to make sure next week's game was a final," said Nagelsmann. "We've done that and now have qualification in our hands."

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