Leipzig wins against Bern at the end of the group phase

RB Leipzig won its last group game in the Champions League against Young Boys Bern. The club goes into the round of 16 as second in the group.

Leipzig won 2-1 (0-0) against Bern. The goals were scored by Benjamin Sesko (51′) and Emil Forsberg (56′) for Leipzig, with Ebrima Colley equalizing in the meantime (53′).

Farewell gift by Emil Forsberg

Emil Forsberg said goodbye with a goal. Forsberg scored the winning goal and was celebrated by the official 43,331 fans in what was probably his last premier class appearance. Forsberg will leave the Red Bull Arena, he is moving from RasenBallsport Leipzig to the New York Red Bulls – all that is missing is the official confirmation, which should take place this week.

Compared to the victory in Dortmund, coach Marco Rose changed his starting eleven to eight positions. The focus was on Peter Gulacsi, who was in goal in a home game for the first time since tearing his cruciate ligament in October 2022. The Hungarian international also led the team onto the field as captain.

Sesko breaks the spell after a weak first half

After six minutes, Forsberg fed Sesko, the Slovenian pirouetted around his opponent and pushed the ball into the far corner. However, the joy only lasted a good half a minute because Sesko was clearly offside. After that the game got weaker.

After the break Sesko scored again – this time it counted. The 20-year-old let his opponent out with a simple hook and hit the ball into the corner from close range. The spell was broken – also for Bern. Just two minutes later, Castello Lukeba let the ball slip through, Jean-Pierre Nsame broke through on the right wing and fed Colley in the middle. Just three minutes later, Forsberg shot with his left and hit the far corner. Leipzig’s Kevin Kampl was named player of the match by UEFA.

Leipzig unseeded in the draw on Monday

In terms of sport, everything was clear before kick-off. RB Leipzig was already safely in the round of 16 as second in Group G and the Swiss champions are continuing their international season in third place in the Europa League. In the other game in Group G, the established group winners Manchester City won 3-2 (1-0) at bottom team Red Star Belgrade.

Leipzig finishes the group in second place and is therefore one of the eight unseeded teams in the round of 16. The draw will take place on Monday (December 18, 2023).