A 90th-minute goal from Jose Maria Gimenez snatched a 2-1 comeback victory for Atletico Madrid at home against RB Leipzig in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko put the visitors in front just four minutes in but Antoine Griezmann levelled things up after 28 minutes.
In the final minute of regular time, the Frenchman chipped goalwards from the edge of the box and Gimenez rose high to head the ball back across goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and into the goal.
“It’s amazing, to get a last-minute goal like this is always fantastic and it’s good to give the fans something to cheer about,” Atletico’s former Leipzig striker Alexander Sorloth told DAZN.
“We just keep on building, believe in ourselves and we put the pressure on Leipzig and won the game.”
Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner said: “We’re of course disappointed because there was something in it for us today. We could have taken at least a point back home from Madrid (but) Atletico were a goal better.”
Leipzig got off to an excellent start, Sesko putting the visitors in front early, just moments after being inches short of tapping in a David Raum cross.
The 21-year-old Slovenian found Lois Openda, whose shot was blocked by Jan Oblak but the ball fell back to Sesko, who headed in from close range.
Leipzig almost had a second shortly after when Sesko got onto a Xavi Simons free-kick, but the ball took a touch and dipped out into touch for a corner.
Buoyed on by a loud crowd in the Spanish capital, Atletico’s Angel Correa thought he had equalised midway through the first half but his header had not crossed the line.
Atletico drew level just two minutes later however, 2018 World Cup winner Griezmann hitting a controlled finish from 12 yards out.
Leipzig had late chances to snatch the game, with Simons hitting over the bar after 72 minutes and Yussuf Poulsen heading wide just five minutes later.
The loss was Leipzig’s first defeat in any competition dating back to February, a run of 17 games.
Atletico had lost the only previous meeting between the two sides, going down 2-1 in a one-legged quarter-final in the 2019-20 competition.
Leipzig’s task in the Champions League will not get any easier, with the club’s next two home games in October coming against Juventus and Liverpool.
AFP
