Late Forsberg penalty salvages 2-2 stalemate for Leipzig in Europe
Leipzig came from behind twice to draw and leave the 2nd Leg all to play for in Spain next Thursday.
Leipzig played host to Real Sociedad in the opening first leg of their Europa League encounter with the Spanish side. Leipzig have started hitting their stride under Tedesco lately and would hope to carry that form into the tie given the only change made to the team was Tyler Adams replacing Benjamin Heinrichs in defence.
The away side got off to a perfect start when the found themselves 0-1 ahead in the 8th minute. A swift attack down the left touchline ending in a Diego Rico cross landed at the feet of the unmarked Le Normand, who despite being a centre half, didn’t hesitate in hammering the ball past Gulacsi in striker-like fashion.
Leipzig held a lot of possession after the goal went in, and despite the difficulty faced getting in behind Sociedad’s 5-man backline, the sustained pressure finally told on 30 mins when the score line read 1-1. A blistering cross from Angelino beat everyone in the Sociedad defence but fell perfectly to none other than the red-hot Nkunku, who stooped and placed the perfect header into the bottom corner to level matters.
Heinrichs was introduced after the interval and was crucial in keeping the sides level on the stroke of the hour. A sublime goal line clearance from a Sociedad corner wasn’t enough for Leipzig however, as minutes later Sociedad won a penalty. Captain, Oyarzabal, stepped up to bury the spot kick and send Gulacsi diving towards the opposite corner. The visitors led 1-2 with just under half an hour remaining on the clock at this stage.
Nkunku had a great scoring opportunity on 75 minutes when Dani Olmo’s eye of the needle pass picked out the Frenchman. Despite the pass leaving Sociedad in sixes and sevens at the back, enough pressure was put on Nkunku which forced him to take a heavy touch and spurn the chance. The ball rolled into the grateful and relieved arms of Matt Ryan who snuffed out any remaining life in the attack.
Szoboszlai was subbed in with 10 minutes to go, and the Hungarian had an instant impact off the bench. The attacker cut inside the sprawling Zaldua who felled his man and the ref pointed to the spot. Forsberg took on the duties and calmly rolled the ball home to tie it up 2-2. Some more Ryan heroics in goal prevented Leipzig from snatching a late winner in added time.
Tedesco’s Leipzig will feel a bit unfortunate considering two of Sociedad’s three shots in the whole affair resulted in goals. Nonetheless, they will feel confident heading to the Basque country next week and coming away with a positive result and a quarter final place secured.