Martín Demichelis' Leipzig came into it after a 4-1 defeat at Como on matchday 1, while Peter Bosz's PSV had drawn 1-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk. The 20:00 BST kick-off in Leipzig was watched by 43,187, according to the German news agency dpa, and the two coaches picked the same shape, a 4-2-3-1 each.
How Leipzig won: a saved penalty, a late goal
The first half finished goalless, and the only goal came with a quarter of an hour left. Leipzig had more of the shooting throughout, PSV more of the ball.
- 19' RB Leipzig 0-0 PSV Eindhoven: Ivan Perisic's right-footed penalty, struck down the middle, is saved by Maarten Vandevoordt.
- 75' RB Leipzig 1-0 PSV Eindhoven: Brajan Gruda, a left-footed shot from outside the box into the top left corner, after a corner.
Gruda's goal was his first in the Champions League, Bulinews reported. Both dpa and Sportschau wrote that the shot took a deflection on its way past Matej Kovár. Gruda had started in place of Andrija Maksimovic after recovering from an abdominal muscle injury, according to dpa, and was replaced by Rocco Reitz a minute after scoring.
Leipzig's starting line-up was Vandevoordt; Ridle Baku, Willi Orbán, Castello Lukeba and David Raum; Ezechiel Banzuzi, Neil El Aynaoui, Christopher Nkunku, Rômulo, Antonio Nusa and Gruda. PSV started Kovár; Sergiño Dest, Armando Obispo, Lutsharel Geertruida and Filip Kostic; Guus Til, Mauro Júnior, Kodai Sano, Sven Mijnans, Ruben van Bommel and Perisic.
The penalty and the disallowed goal
The penalty was the first big moment. Referee Nicholas Walsh gave it after a video review for a handball by Baku in an aerial duel with van Bommel, dpa reported. Vandevoordt dived but reached Perisic's central kick with his foot and deflected it over the bar, as Bulinews described it.
PSV also had a goal disallowed after the opener. Obispo headed in during the 82nd minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check, according to Bulinews. Obispo was booked three minutes later, in the 85th, after Dest in the 43rd; Nusa, in the 81st, was Leipzig's only yellow card. Near the end PSV wanted a second penalty for a possible handball by Lukeba, but the referee and the VAR decided it was not an offense, PSV Inside reported. There were no red cards.
Both managers used the bench late. Demichelis sent on Tidiam Gomis for Rômulo in the 61st minute, Reitz for Gruda in the 76th, and Nicolas Seiwald and Lukas Klostermann for Baku and Banzuzi in the 86th. Bosz replaced Geertruida and Kostic with Ryan Flamingo and Yarek Gasiorowski in the 77th, then van Bommel and Mijnans with Ayoni Santos and Mikkel Hansen in the 84th.
RB Leipzig vs PSV: shots, possession and passing
| Stat | RB Leipzig | PSV Eindhoven |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 43% | 57% |
| Shots | 19 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 5 |
| Corners | 6 | 13 |
| Fouls | 13 | 12 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 0 | 6 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 5 | 6 |
| Passes (completed) | 350 (289) | 466 (389) |
The numbers show a game both goalkeepers had a say in. Leipzig had 19 shots to PSV's 11 and seven on target to five, and Kovár made six saves, stopping every Leipzig effort on target except Gruda's. Vandevoordt made five saves at the other end. PSV had 57% of the ball, won 13 corners to Leipzig's six and were caught offside six times; Leipzig were never flagged. Both teams completed 83% of their passes.
Leipzig's first points of the league phase
The win was Leipzig's first in the Champions League since a 2-1 victory over Sporting in January 2025, 629 days earlier, dpa noted. After the 4-1 defeat at Como on matchday 1, Leipzig now have three points from two games, with one win and one defeat, two goals scored and four conceded.
PSV stay on one point from two games: the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk and this defeat, with one goal scored and two conceded. After Wednesday's games Leipzig were 21st in the 36-team league-phase table, level with Sabah FK on points, goal difference and goals scored but ahead on away goals, one to none, and PSV were 26th, a place below Roma, who have the same point and goal difference but four goals scored to PSV's one. Those places are after two of the eight league-phase games.
Next: Real Madrid for Leipzig, Porto for PSV
- RB Leipzig: away at Real Madrid, Wednesday 21 October 2026, 20:00 BST.
- PSV Eindhoven: away at FC Porto, Tuesday 20 October 2026, 20:00 BST.
Leipzig's next outing was a Bundesliga trip to Bayern Munich on Saturday, according to Sportschau, ahead of the visit to Madrid. Their league position is on the Bundesliga table, and the Bundesliga simulator lets you test how the German season could finish.
Our sources for this one: ESPN's match data for the score, the saved penalty, the goal, the cards, the substitutions, the lineups, the team stats and the next fixtures; ESPN full-time results, counted by us, for both clubs' records and for the 36-team table after matchday 2. The match detail is from dpa via Der Tagesspiegel, Sportschau, Bulinews via Yahoo Sports and PSV Inside; no post-match quotes had surfaced when we wrote it.