LEIPZIG, Germany: Leipzig earned their first win of the Champions League season by beating Celtic 3-1 on Wednesday thanks to two late goals from André Silva and a defensive error from visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The outstanding Christopher Nkunku also scored as Leipzig finally got off the mark in Group F after losses to Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid. But the win came at a cost as influential goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi had to be carried off early with an apparent right knee injury.
Janis Blaswich replaced him for his Champions League debut.
Nkunku had a goal ruled out through VAR for offside shortly afterward, but the French player showed his class in the 27th when he went past Hart and finished from a narrow angle.
Kyogo Furuhashi had just gone close for the visitors, who suffered a further blow when captain Callum McGregor had to go off injured in the 37th.
Portuguese winger Jota equalized in the 47th when Furuhashi sent him through for a one-on-one with Blaswich. Jota sidefooted a low shot inside the far post for his first Champions League goal.
Dominik Szoboszlai struck the post in response, then thought he scored with a shot from 20 meters (yards) inside the far post. But VAR again ruled it out as André Silva had blocked Hart’s view.
The Celtic goalkeeper then gifted Leipzig their second goal when he passed straight to Szoboszlai, who teed up Silva to put the host ahead in the 64th.
Then Nkunku shone again with a brilliant ball for Mohamed Simakan to tee up Silva to seal the result in the 77th.
Celtic dropped to the bottom of Group F with one point.
Leipzig beats Celtic 3-1 for 1st win in Champions League
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Leipzig beats Celtic 3-1 for 1st win in Champions League
- The win came at a cost as influential goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi had to be carried off early with an apparent right knee injury
- Nkunku showed his class in the 27th when he went past Hart and finished from a narrow angle
Norway’s Carlsen wins first FIDE Freestyle World Chess Championship
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen added another crown to his collection on Sunday by becoming the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess world champion after a comeback win over Fabiano Caruana in Germany.
The chess master secured the title with a cautious draw in the fourth and final game, clinching a 2.5–1.5 match victory against his 33-year-old American opponent in Weissenhaus.
Sunday’s turning point came in the thrilling third game, in which Carlsen, 35, pulled off a stunning win from a seemingly lost position, swinging the entire contest in his favor.
The world number one only needed a draw in the decisive fourth game, and that’s exactly what he got in an equal endgame, with Caruana missing late opportunities to mount a comeback.
Carlsen has now won 21 world titles in various formats.
The World Championship marked a breakthrough collaboration between FIDE and private organizer Freestyle Chess, staging the first officially recognized title in this format.
Carlsen had previously failed to capture the FIDE Fischer Random World Championship, making this victory particularly sweet for the chess great.
In the bronze medal match, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat Germany’s Vincent Keymer, securing his spot by drawing from a winning position in the final game.
Both finalists and Abdusattorov have qualified for next year’s championship.
The tournament’s lower placings saw Hans Niemann of the United States take fifth with a 2-0 victory over India’s Arjun Erigaisi, while Armenia’s Levon Aronian won his Armageddon game against Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov for seventh place.
In the women’s exhibition match, Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva prevailed over Switzerland’s Alexandra Kosteniuk after their final encounter ended in a draw.
