Leipzig snatched a 1-0 Champions League win over PSV thanks to Gruda’s goal and Vandevoordt’s penalty save from Perišić.
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RB Leipzig 1-0 PSVGoals: 1-0 Gruda 75′Missed pen: Perišić 19′
Off the back of disappointing results on Matchday 1, both RB Leipzig and PSV were keen to get their first win of the Champions League campaign on the board.
Leipzig made just one change from their emphatic 6-0 domestic win against Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend, with Gruda returning to the starting line-up, while PSV made three changes from their own winning domestic XI as three former Bundesliga players – Leipzig loanee Lutsharel Geertruida, Ivan Perišić and Filip Kostić – all came into the team.
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Lutsharel Geertruida is currently on loan at PSV from Leipzig. – DFL/Getty Images/Sebastian Widmann –>
Perišić’s spot‑kick saved.
Leipzig struck first inside five minutes when Ridle Baku unleashed a close-range acrobatic volley, only to be denied by Matěj Kovář’s reflexes.
PSV earned a penalty in the 18th after Baku’s arm nudged a deep cross; Perišić stepped up but Vandevoordt’s outstretched legs tipped it over.
Shortly after, Antonio Nusa curled a shot just wide for Leipzig, while PSV kept probing via Ruben van Bommel.
Leipzig pressed on at halftime as Gruda troubled the PSV backline; a late dash saw him set up Neil El Aynaoui, whose effort sailed over.
Vandevoordt emerged as Leipzig’s saviour in the first half, denying Perišić from the spot to preserve a 0‑0 deadlock. In my view, his heroics shifted the momentum. – IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Jan Kaefer
Gruda opens the scoring.
The second period mirrored the first: Nusa forced a smart Kovář save, Mijns missed a close chance, and Vandevoordt rejected strikes from Kostić and Dest, while Kovář double‑saved against Gruda and Orbán at the hour mark.
The breakthrough came in the 75th; a corner was cleared to Gruda, who beat a defender and curled a deflected shot into the far corner, putting Leipzig ahead.
PSV thought they had equalised when Armando Obispo headed in from a Van Bommel cross, but the flag was raised; they pressed with late corners, yet Leipzig clung on for three points.
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Leipzig’s win was their first in the UCL since January 2025. – IMAGO/Sven Sonntag –>
Next up Leipzig face Bayern Munich in the league before a Champions League trip to Real Madrid on Oct 21. Can they keep the momentum alive?