RB Leipzig 2-1 Atletico Madrid: 5 talking points | UEFA Champions League 2019-20

Leipzig face PSG in the club's first-ever European semi-final.
Leipzig face PSG in the club's first-ever European semi-final.

RB Leipzig stunned Atletico Madrid with a late winner to reach their first-ever semi-final in the Champions League in their debut season in the competition.

Dani Olmo opened the scoring for the Bundesliga club with a neat header just five minutes after the break before Joao Felix leveled the scores for Atletico Madrid from the spot in the second half.

The match was supposedly heading into extra-time but Tyler Adams popped with a late strike in the 87th minute, albeit off a deflection of Stefan Savic, to break Atletico hearts and send Leipzig through at the La Liga club's expense.

Die Roten Bullen now take on PSG in Tuesday's semi-final clash at the Estadio Da Luz. On that note, here are the five major talking points from the match:

Five talking points from Leipzig's 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals:

#1: Cagey first-half sees both teams largely cancel each other out

The opening stanza offered no great shakes.
The opening stanza offered no great shakes.

Atletico Madrid once again set up to hit on the break while RB Leipzig employed possession-based football. Both teams executed their plans well, but chances were at a premium in the opening stanza.

Atletico's threat chiefly stemmed from the left through Yannick Carrasco, whose constant forays were a cause of concern for Leipzig. But the Spanish giants couldn't carve out clear-cut opportunities in the final third as both their strikers Marcos Llorente and Diego Costa were almost non-existent.

Die Roten Bullen too, left a lot to be desired after a promising build-up. On far too many occasions, they got in and around the Atletico area with neat passes, but the latter's narrowness at the back forced Leipzig to execute hopeful punts in the box.

Despite flashes of promise from both teams, the match didn't see any real goal-mouth action at either ends and plausibly finished 0-0 at half-time.

#2: Diego Costa is a liability to Atletico

Diego Costa (left) was nowhere to be seen against Leipzig.
Diego Costa (left) was nowhere to be seen against Leipzig.

Diego Costa's homecoming at Atletico after his mini-Chelsea sojourn hasn't gone according to plan. Injuries have plagued his form as well as his time on the field, something which is reflected in the Spaniard's measly return of ten goals in the league in the last two and a half years.

With another below-par performance against Leipzig, it's painfully clear that Costa is no longer the talisman of the Atletico side like he once used to be; he has instead become a liability now.

For the 72 minutes that he lasted on the pitch, Costa was largely pedestrian. He made no concerted effort to test Leipzig and was also kept at arm's length by the brilliant Dayot Upamecano who followed him like a shadow and also came out on top in aerial duels too.

With a grand total of zero shots on target and also the least number of passes, Costa well and truly came a cropper as Simeone's decision to start the out-of-form striker ahead of Joao Felix was disconcerting, to say the least.

#3: Sabitzer rises to the occasion

Sabitzer was the silent killer against Atletico.
Sabitzer was the silent killer against Atletico.

Leipzig were understandably weakened by the departure of the prolific Timo Werner who would've been on target against Atletico. But Marcel Sabitzer made sure that Werner's absence didn't prove detrimental for Leipzig as he stepped up to the plate and engineered both his team's goals.

For the opener, the Austrian got in behind the backline and brilliantly laid the ball off for Olmo who did not err in heading his effort into the back post. Then with the clock winding down on the match, the Bundesliga outfit broke into another counter; Sabitzer played a wonderful through-ball to Angelino, cutting through the Atleti defence like a knife through butter, and squared to Tylor Adams who finished the job.

The young American is probably going to grab all the headlines in the immediate aftermath of the win against Atletico, but Sabitzer was undoubtedly Leipzig's unsung hero of the night,

#4: Felix continues to prove his worth

Joao Felix was a bright spark for Atletico Madrid against Leipzig.
Joao Felix was a bright spark for Atletico Madrid against Leipzig.

Joao Felix's mega-money move to Atletico Madrid surely turned heads last summer, but he's proved to worth his salt was still a matter of debate even after the La Liga season culminated.

Truth to be told, Felix was just settling in, but he was settling in well. A return of six goals is not bad for a 19-year-old who also came off the bench on most occasions this season, something he also did against Leipzig. Nevertheless, the youngster delivered another reminder of his potential in this match.

After replacing the insipid Costa, the Portuguese young gun injected urgency into Atletico's vanguard with his energetic runs and quick passes and also inspired hope for the Rojiblancos in the match, albeit for a short while.

As Felix probed Leipzig's backline with a mazy run, he was brought down inside the area to win a penalty which he powerfully dispatched to help Atletico restore parity.

The ex-Benfica star did way more in his 20 minutes on the field than all three Atletico strikers combined.

#5: Nagelsmann is a genius; PSG have been suitably warned

Julian Nagelsmann has worked wonders since arriving at Leipzig.
Julian Nagelsmann has worked wonders since arriving at Leipzig.

At just 33 years of age, Julian Nagelsmann is truly carving a niche for himself with his tactical brilliance. He replaced Ralph Ragnick at the Leipzig helm last summer and guided the club to another third-place finish in the Bundesliga.

Despite losing his best player, he has just guided the club to their first-ever Champions League semi-final.

In normal circumstances, a team still reeling from the loss of a prolific striker would've ended up struggling in a big match like the Champions League quarter-finals, but the young German manager drilled his side well as Leipzig threw everything at Atletico and came out on top.

The Bundesliga club pressed high up and despite their higher defensive line, they were never found out. Both of their goals too, were a result of some 'tiki taka' style of play, as they exchanged short and slick passes to open up Atletico's otherwise stoic backline.

PSG will a different kettle of fish altogether in the semi-final, and Leipzig will once again be the underdogs, but write the German club off at your own peril.

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