RB Leipzig in European football
RB Leipzig, is a German association football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by initiative of the company Red Bull GmbH—which purchased the playing rights of a fifth-tier side, SSV Markranstädt, with the intent of advancing the new club to the top-flight Bundesliga within eight years. Men's professional football is run by the spin-off organization RasenballSport Leipzig GmbH. RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena.
Having finished as runners-up in their debut season in the German top flight, RB Leipzig gained entry to continental football for the first time, specifically the 2017–18 Champions League for which Red Bull Salzburg had also qualified as Austrian champions; this raised the issue of a possible conflict of interest between the clubs due to the level of influence exerted by Red Bull over both teams and the close sporting relationship between them in various aspects.[1][2][3] After examining the operational structures during June 2017, UEFA declared themselves satisfied under their regulations that the two clubs (particularly Salzburg) were suitably independent from the Red Bull corporation, and sufficiently distinct from one another, for both be admitted to their competitions.[4][5]
In the first season following that ruling, both reached the quarter-finals of the 2017–18 Europa League but did not play each other, with RB Leipzig eliminated by Olympique de Marseille who then also knocked out Salzburg in the semi-finals. However, in the next edition of the same competition, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg were drawn together in Group B to meet competitively for the first time.[6][7]
RB Leipzig is one of the first clubs in history to qualify for the Champions League so soon (eight years) after its creation.[8] Salzburg were the victors in both fixtures between the clubs (3–2 in Germany, 1–0 in Austria)[9][10] and also won all their other matches to top the group, while Leipzig failed to progress after dropping further points against Celtic and Rosenborg.[11]
Matches
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | UEFA Champions League | Group G |  Monaco |
1–1 | 4–1 | 3rd |  |
 Beşiktaş |
1–2 | 0–2 | |||||
 Porto |
3–2 | 1–3 | |||||
| UEFA Europa League | R32 |  Napoli |
0–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 (a) |  | |
| R16 |  Zenit Saint Petersburg |
2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | | ||
| QF | Marseille |
1–0 | 2–5 | 3–5 | | ||
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR |  BK Häcken |
4–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | |
| 3QR |  Universitatea Craiova |
3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | | ||
| PO |  Zorya Luhansk |
3–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | | ||
| Group B |  Celtic |
2–0 | 1–2 | 3rd | | ||
 Rosenborg |
1–1 | 3–1 | |||||
 Red Bull Salzburg |
2–3 | 0–1 | |||||
| 2019–20 | UEFA Champions League | Group G | Benfica |
2–2 | 2–1 | 1st | |
| Lyon |
0–2 | 2–2 | |||||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg |
2–1 | 2–0 | |||||
| R16 |  Tottenham Hotspur |
3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | ||
| QF |  Atlético Madrid |
2–1 | | ||||
| SF | Paris Saint-Germain |
0–3 | | ||||
| 2020–21 | UEFA Champions League | Group H | İstanbul Başakşehir |
2–0 | 4–3 | 2nd | |
| Paris Saint-Germain |
2–1 | 0–1 | |||||
| Manchester United |
3–2 | 0–5 | |||||
| R16 | Liverpool |
||||||
Source: UEFA.com, Last updated on 8 December 2020
- Notes
- 2QR: Second qualifying round
- 3QR: Third qualifying round
- PO : Play-off round
- R32: Round of 32
- R16: Round of 16
- QF : Quarter-finals
- SF : Semi-finals
Overall record
By competition
- As of 8 December 2020
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 54.55 |
| UEFA Europa League | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 44.44 |
| Total | 40 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 50.00 |
By club
- As of 8 December 2020
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético Madrid |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Benfica |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Beşiktaş |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| BK Häcken |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 50.00 |
| Celtic |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 50.00 |
| İstanbul Başakşehir |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 100.00 |
| Lyon |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Manchester United |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 50.00 |
| Marseille |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 50.00 |
| Monaco |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 50.00 |
| Napoli |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 50.00 |
| Paris Saint-Germain |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 33.33 |
| Porto |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 50.00 |
| Red Bull Salzburg |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Rosenborg |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 50.00 |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 100.00 |
| Universitatea Craiova |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 50.00 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 75.00 |
| Zorya Luhansk |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 50.00 |
By country
- As of 8 December 2020
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| England |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | +0 | 75.00 |
| France |
9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 33.33 |
| Italy |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 50.00 |
| Norway |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 50.00 |
| Portugal |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | +0 | 50.00 |
| Romania |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 50.00 |
| Russia |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 75.00 |
| Scotland |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Spain |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Sweden |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 50.00 |
| Turkey |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Ukraine |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 50.00 |
References
- "UEFA rules threaten to disqualify RB Leipzig or Red Bull Salzburg from Champions League". Goal. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- "Red Bull and the fight for football's soul". Financial Times. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- Richard Williams (12 May 2017). "Red Bull will need all its energy to overcome Uefa ownership rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- "German clubs won't appeal after UEFA clear RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg for Champions League despite Red Bull link". The Independent. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- "Champions League: RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg both allowed to compete". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- "Europa League Draw: Leipzig drawn with 'sister' club Salzburg, Frankfurt have it tough". Deutsche Welle. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- "Red-Bull-clubs: Leipzig encounters Salzburg". Allinfo. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- "RB Leipzig looking forward to Champions League debut". Deutsche Welle. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- "RB Leipzig 2–3 Red Bull Salzburg". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- "Europa League: RB Leipzig hanging by a thread after Salzburg loss". Deutsche Welle. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- "Watch: The Unlikely Rosenborg Goal That Saved Celtic's Blushes". Balls. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.