BERLIN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Fredrik Gulbrandsen's last-grasp winner secured Salzburg all three points against resilient Leipzig at their group stage opener in UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Leipzig fought back from two goals down but the two second-half goals were not enough as Salzburg's Fredrik Gulbrandsen left it late to clinch all three points on the road.
From the kickoff both sides staged a lively opening period as Leipzig's Kevin Kampl tested goalkeeper Alexander Walke with a long-range effort in the 13th minute before Salzburg's Munas Dabbur benefitted on a misplaced pass to open the scoring with just custodian Yvon Mvogo to beat in the 20th minute.
The hosts wobbled and were unable to respond whereas Salzburg kept it bowling to double the lead only three minutes later when Andreas Ulmer's square pass allowed Amadou Haidara to make it 2-0 on the scoreboards.
As the match progressed, Salzburg controlled the proceedings on the pitch meanwhile Leipzig failed to produce clear-cut opportunities in the first half.
Things changed after the interval though as Leipzig reduced the arrears out of the blue in the 70th minute after Konrad Laimer intercepted a ball at the edge of the box to nutmeg goalkeeper Alexander Walke.
Leipzig gained momentum and were able to level the scores as Yussuf Poulsen headed home Kevin Kampl's pinpoint cross into the box to make it two-all draw in the 82nd minute.
However, the visitors were not done with the scoring and responded well to shock Leipzig in the dying minutes of the clash when substitute Fredrik Gulbrandsen made no mistake to kill the game into the far post corner following a fast break.
"We rallied back from two goals down and now we leave the pitch empty-handed. To concede three goals on home soil is inacceptable. It was a disappointing evening for us," Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer said.
"Our defensive performance was very weak. If you defend like we defended in the last minutes you deserve to lose. We just gave away a draw," Leipzig's head coach Ralf Rangnick said.
With the result, Salzburg move atop the standings in Group B followed by Celtic, Leipzig and Rosenborg. Enditem
