Leipzig held to 1-1 draw by Rosenborg, eliminated from UEFA Europa League

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-14 09:38:30|Editor: WX
Video PlayerClose

BERLIN, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Rosenborg Trondheim's late 1-1 leveller eliminated Leipzig from the Europa League group stage on Thursday.

Wasteful Leipzig dominated for over 90 minutes but Tore Reginiussen's late equalizer knocked out the hosts.

Leipzig grabbed a bright start into the encounter as Jean-Kevin Augustin came close twice in the opening period but Rosenborg goalkeeper Andre Hansen was on guard.

The host dominated the proceedings on the pitch but Rosenborg staged a well-positioned defense and drove Leipzig to desperation.

Just before the break, Leipzig worked out their best chance of the first half as Willi Orban headed a corner from Kevin Kampl to the bar in the 44th minute.

After the restart, Leipzig eventually got rewarded for their efforts and broke the deadlock in the 47th minute when Matheus Cunha had all time and space to slot home the opener with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

With the lead behind, Leipzig was through and kept it bowling as substitute Yussuf Poulsen rattled the woodwork following a counter attack with 62 minutes played.

However, the visitors came to life out of the blue and reaped two chances as Yvon Mvogo defused Samuel Adegbenro's effort on target before Birger Meling squandered the rebound from close range.

Leipzig remained active but wasted another promising chance as custodian Andre Hansen denied Yussuf Poulsen in the 79th minute.

Hence, the visitors punished Leipzig's wastefulness in the closing period as Birger Meling danced through the host's defense before curling the ball into path of Tore Reginiussen, who headed home the equalizer to eliminate Ralf Rangnick's men.

"It is a bitter share of spoils for us. We simply cannot concede a goal like that in the closing stages. However, we had our chances and didn't make the most out of it," Leipzig's Yussuf Poulsen said.

In Group D, RB Salzburg secured the top spot with six wins in as many games, followed by Celtic Glasgow (9 points), RB Leipzig (7 points) and Rosenborg Trondheim (1 point).

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100901376736831