Europa League: Wins for Leipzig & Eintracht, Leverkusen lose
October 25, 2018
RB Leipzig 2-0 Celtic, Red Bull Arena
(Cunha 31', Bruma 35')
Two goals in four first half minutes gave Leipzig victory over Celtic as Ralf Rangnick's side took an important step forward in the Europa League.
Celtic were depleted by injuries but started the game well with Odsonne Edouard going close with an instinctive shot that whistled just past Yvon Mvogo's post.
Celtic struggled to impose themselves as an attacking force though and RB Leipzig grew into the contest, eventually taking the lead through Mattheus Cunha, who took the ball down on his chest and lashed in after Celtic had failed to clear Marcel Sabitzer's cross from the right.
Leipzig made it two shortly after, quickly snuffing out any hopes Celtic had of keeping the hosts at bay until half time. Marcelo Saracchi's searing pace got him clear down the left, his cross wasn't properly dealt with by Celtic, and the ball dropped invitingly for Bruma, who took it on the run and guided his shot past Celtic keeper Craig Gordon.
Celtic brought a sizeable army of fans to Leipzig and they could be heard throughout the second half, but Leipzig looked more likely to add a third than Celtic gain a foothold in the game. Konrad Laimer and Jean-Kevin Augustin both hit the post as Leipzig pushed for number three, but in the end they had to settle for a 2-0 win.
It was a comfortable and well-deserved victory for Leipzig, who are now eight games unbeaten in all competitions.
Zurich 3-2 Leverkusen, Letzigrund
(Marchesano 44', Domgjoni 59', Modou 78' - Bellarabi 50', 54')
Leverkusen's season continues to twist and turn and in Switzerland it took another turn for the worse.
The early press from Heiko Herrlich's charges wasn't as effective as desired, as Zurich looked the more likely to score. Stephen Odey had a great chance to convert one of those chances, but Lukas Hradecky made a smart save to deny the Nigerian.
Eventually though, that pressure paid. A wonderful piece of skill from Kevin Ruegg allowed the wingback to nutmeg Sven Bender and get the ball into the box for Antonio Marchesano to sweep home.
With 10 minutes of the restart though, Leverkusen were ahead. Kai Havertz fed Karim Bellarabi on the right side of the box, and he hammered home a strike before the winger scored almost exactly the same goal thanks to another pass from Havertz.
And yet, like much of Leverkusen's season, that joy didn't last long. A defensive error invited Zurich into the box and Toni Domgjoni's deflected effort leveled the scores once more.
After a frantic nine minute period that saw three goals scored, the game hung in the balance. With just over 10 minutes to play, Leverkusen's defense opened again and Jagne Modou crossed for Odey to sweep home.
Not even luck was on Leverkusen's side. In the fourth minute of added time, Lars Bender headed home but the goal was bizarrely ruled out by referee Aliyar Aghayev for an apparent foul by Bender beforehand.
The defeat lifts Zurich to top of the group at Leverkusen's expense.
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Apollon Limassol, Commerzbank-Arena
(Kostic 13', Haller 32')
A goalkeeping howler by Bruno Vale set Eintracht Frankfurt en route to a victory that sees them take charge of Group H.
Vale let a routine shot from Filip Kostic squirm under his body, and that set the tone for the visitors, who were unable to live with Eintracht's high octane style.
Sebastien Haller's towering header from Evan N'Dicka's cross put daylight between the sides, and it was a goal that had appeared to set Eintracht on the path to a big win.
But the hosts labored in front of goal, missing a host of opportunities to put the result beyond doubt, with Jonathan de Guzmen and Haller guilty of missing good chances.
De Guzman went close again with a drive from distance that flashed past the post and Rebic was unlucky not to win a penalty when he tumbled over Esteban Sachetti's outstretched leg.
Limassol went remarkably close to getting one back in the 80th minute when an overhit cross came back off the post, Fotis Papoulis turned the rebound onto the bar, and then Marco Russ stopped Emilio Zelaya's shot on the line.
Eintracht's victory maintains their 100 percent record in this season's Europa League and, with the return game against Limassol in Cyprus next, Frankfurt could all but secure their passage to the knockout stage.