Tottenham vs RB Leipzig LIVE: Result and reaction from Champions League fixture tonight
Re-live all the action from the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham will again have to do it the hard way in the Champions League after they suffered a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig.
Spurs' run to the final last season was full of great escapes and comeback wins and they will need another after Timo Werner's second-half penalty gave the Bundesliga side a deserved win in their first ever knockout game in this competition.
It also sees 32-year-old Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, who has been dubbed 'Baby Mourinho' and is a rising star of European football, gain the edge over the man he has been named after.
But Spurs boss Jose Mourinho will claim this was not a fair fight as he was without two of his best attacking players, with the loss Son Heung-min on the eve of the match adding to that of Harry Kane.
The defeat would have been much worse had Hugo Lloris not produced a number of vital saves to keep Leipzig at bay, while Spurs struggled for clear opportunities at the other end.
Giovani Lo Celso had the best of them as his free-kick was turned on to the post, but it was a frustrating night for Mourinho.
Spurs will look to last season's semi-final, where they turned around a similar first-leg defeat to Ajax with a dramatic night in Amsterdam, and there is the sense that something similar will be required in Leipzig on March 10.
While Nagelsmann was enjoying his first taste of knockout football in this competition, this was nothing new for Mourinho.
But rarely will he have gone into such a big game without two such key men as Son and Kane and their absence really set the tone.
Although Spurs' problems were in attack, their frailties at the other end were immediately apparent as Leipzig had three golden chances inside the opening two minutes.
The hosts were sliced open down the right and Nordi Mukiele's cross teed up Werner, but his shot was blocked by Davinson Sanchez.
Then from the rebound Angelino's shot was turned onto the post by the leg of Lloris, who then saved Werner's effort from close range.
Spurs, with no recognised striker on the pitch, were hoping that the pace of Bergwijn and Lucas Moura would be their main weapon and it was the Dutchman who had their best moment of the first half.
The mercurial Lo Celso played him in with a deft touch and, after turning inside, Bergwijn's low shot was palmed away by Peter Gulacsi.
But from then on, it was a succession of missed chances for the visitors as Leipzig found holes in the Spurs defence at will.
Patrick Schick put a header just wide from a corner, Angelino had another effort blocked and Lloris was called into action again to deny Werner with a parried save.
The inevitable eventually happened just before the hour mark.
Werner's chipped ball was met by Konrad Laimer and the Dane was clattered into by Ben Davies, with referee Cuneyt Cakir rightly pointing to the spot.
Werner made no mistake as he drilled into the bottom corner for a crucial away goal.
It should have been even worse for Spurs as Leipzig got in on goal with a slick counter attack, but Lloris came to the rescue with a fine save off Schick.
Mourinho's side had to up the ante and Lo Celso came close to levelling matters in the 72nd minute, but his 25-yard free-kick was tipped onto the post by Gulacsi.
Their big moment came in the 89th minute, but Moura could not deliver as he did in Amsterdam last May.
Davies had space on the left and picked the Brazilian out perfectly, but his header went over the crossbar and it left Spurs with another mountain to climb in this competition.
PA
PREVIEW
What time is Tottenham vs Leipzig?
The match kicks off at 8pm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What TV channel is it on?
The match will be shown on BT Sport 2 for UK subscribers. Viewers can also access coverage via the BT Sport App.
Predicted line-ups
Spurs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies, Lo Celso, Winks, Alli, Bergwijn, Ndombele, Lucas
Leipzig: Gulacsi, Mukiele, Klostermann, Ampadu, Halstenberg, Angelino, Laimer, Sabitzer, Olmo, Nkunku, Werner
Prediction
Tottenham have ground out some good results recently and Jose Mourinho is a master at stifling dangerous attacks in Europe. Expect a cagey contest. 0-0.
Tonight's match will be the first clash between Tottenham and RB Leipzig. It is also the first time that Leipzig will face an English club in a competitive European match.
They are the second German team to come to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium following Bayern Munich in October when they won 7-2.
The stadium has seen the most goals in the Champions Legaue this season with 20, 11 for Spurs and nine against.
The Chelsea teenager has had to bide his time on loan in the Bundesliga, but injuries and suspension now see him get a rare chance on the biggest stage:
Want to know more about Tottenham's opponents RB Leipzig? Then have a watch of this:
RB Leipzig's manager, Julian Nagelsmann, is a considerable talent. He became Hoffenheim manager four years ago at the age of just 28.
They were seven points adrift of safety when he took over in February - but they stayed up, and then qualified for the Champions League the following season.
It was announced in 2018 that Nagelsmann would remain in charge for the 2018-19 season and then take charge of Leipzig.
In his first season with Leipzig, he has led them to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time and they sit one point behind Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
Julian Nagelsmann isn't worried about the tactics of Jose Mourinho and has backed his players to come out and perform tonight:
"I think soccer in this class is not a tactical battle between the managers it is always a game for the players. Tactics are important but the more important thing is the perfromance of the guys, how they do the things you want them to do. It is not a game between Jose [Mourinho] and Julian [Nagelsmann], it is a game between Leipzig and Tottenham.
"I think the emotional side of things is more important. You have deal with the pressure of the knockout games and that is more important than the tactics."
Jose Mourinho is hoping for a special European night at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and that the atmosphere of the fans can give his side a needed boost. He said:
“We need that more than ever. I think our players deserve all the support that people can give – fantastic guys, fantastic group, fighting against every adverse episode that we’ve had since the beginning of the season – and arriving in this moment, in this position, in the Champions League, in the Premier League, after so much work and so much effort, to arrive in this situation now for a crucial period of the season, I would say the boys don’t just need… the boys deserve more than ever the support of our stadium.”
Mourinho hasn’t won Europe’s biggest crown for nearly a decade but this last-16 tie should bring out the best in him and his side:
Five minutes to go until kick off. Tottenham have a new look forward line with Leipzig struggling in defence. Who'll come out on top? Jose or Julian? Tottenham or Leipzig?
Tottenham vs RB Leipzig is up next...
Tottenham 0 - 0 Leipzig
Kick off: Leipzig get the match underway, they work the ball up the left wing before sending it to Schick in the middle. He takes a couple of attempts to control the ball and manages to bring it down and shoot but the shot goes wide.
Tottenham 0 - 0 Leipzig
3 mins: Werner denied by Lloris! Leipzig have started the match rapidly. Angelino gets forward on the left wing overlap, he collects the ball and tries to squeeze it into the net on the near post but Lloris gets a leg to the shot and it rebounds off the post.
The visitors regain the ball and switch it out to the right. Laimer picks it up in the box and squares it to Werner who takes a touch and fires a shot from close range at Lloris who puts his body in the way to make the save.
Werner was offside though so the goal wouldn't have stood.
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